DO TRASH receptacles and sidewalks have an ideology? How about zoning overlays, watershed development, and tree pruning? These are the kinds of issues that animate local planning boards, those temples of wonkery and reheated coffee that produce acronym-laden reports on parochial community concerns. But to an increasingly vocal group of activists, your local planning board is in fact a cell of hidden conspiracies to undermine US freedom and sovereignty and create a system of one-world government.
At the center of this purported global threat, not surprisingly, is the United Nations, which in 1992 put forward a non-binding agreement known as Agenda 21, committing the 178 signatory countries to goals of sustainable development and conservation of land and energy resources. That known radical, then-president George H. W. Bush, signed up the United States.
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Sigh. I hate to think where all this conspiracy thinking will lead us. I am starting to picture us in one of those gray apocalyptic movies, with everyone armed and out for themselves. This isn't the frontier anymore. With increasing world population, industrialization and urbanization, conservation of resources and careful planning will be required for the creation and maintenance of a healthy and livable communities. Like it or not, cooperation within and between our communities will be the key to livable culture and a sustainable environment. You still have the freedom to vote down that bike trail if it really looks dangerous...
These nihilistic fringe groups have always been a part of the American landscape. Remember the John Birch Society? Like "Jesus freaks" or any other religious fundamentalist group, these wackos can serve a useful purpose in that everyone else can define themselves by what they are not. These fringe groups are wild-eyed and live in their own alternate reality, and we can feel relieved that we're not like "that". What's scary is when these elements grow large enough that they begin having a corrosive effect on society, and this is what we are seeing both on the local level and at the national level with the Republican Party. We would be much farther along in our recovery if the Republicans hadn't been so hell bent on defeating Obama at all costs, and in following their nihilistic ideology.
The responsibility for the growth of fringe groups lies in several quarters: the media that spreads the false memes, the Internet that helps such groups organize and the public for failing to push back on irrational attacks on individuals and on the government. Thirty years ago, if you held a fringe belief, you were less likely to see it discussed as newsworthy on the nightly news - a big clue that your idea was not mainstream. But, if somehow the fringe group reached some critical mass of followers, critical analysis was much more reliably forthcoming (e.g. the Reverend Jim Jones and his cult could not continue to operate in the US because of such scrutiny).
The times have changed. Examples of fringe groups assisted in having their ideas proliferated via news coverage abound: the birther movement was profiled early by anti-Obama news channels lending legitimacy to what is a contrary-to-fact proposition. Despite the consensus of scientific opinion on global warming, the media bent over backwards to look "non-partisan" when Republicans alied themselves with the head-in-the-sand point of view. The Internet fed the vaccine controversy which has endangered public health as a consequence of organized groups refusing to believe that one's pet belief has been scientifically discredited.
Personally, far more troubling is the orgnized, concerted anti-government attack of the fundamentalist theocrats. Because our government may not promote one religious faith over another, it becomes the enemy of the theocrat and hence the subject of rafts of conspiracy theories the one-world government mentioned above. For example, one conspiracy theory that persists is that the government "ban" on prayer in the schools is evidence of intent to eradicate religion - the truth is that students may pray silently every day but can't be subjected to proselytization by one particular religious group with the help of government. Such folks cite government conspiracy to undermine their freedom of religion by citing education standards on the following topics: the age of the universe, evidence of evolution, the extinction of dinosaurs, the lack of evidence for a world-wide flood, and the contributions of our founding fathers. Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence) and James Madison (Constitution) were quite clear on keeping religious ties out of government. They have even tried to write them out of textbooks. Education standards that touch on such issues are a threat to the fundamentalist and hence the idea that the Department of Education must be abolished in favor of local control (all the better to promote Intelligent Design, for example).
I suggest that rather than feel relieved that we are not like "that", we instead make it part of our civic duty to expose irrationality where we find it. Certainly we ought to rethink the myriad ways that we are increasingly being bullied into letting fundamentalist theocrats undermine the basic Constitutional tenets that make America exceptional.
Folks will argue that they are entitled to their own beliefs yet we all need to be vigilant in letting them know that they are not entitled to their own facts.
Remember that the John Birch Society was co-founded by the Koch brother's founder. It's not as big a leap as you might think.
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." If you are upset by this article, and don't actively participate in neighborhood groups working for positive change, then you are part of the problem. Get involved. Work for good. Many small changes will make a better world, despite the clamour of fools.
Just because an international organization, hated and feared by a certain element among our population, has promulgated a sustainable-growth agenda doesn't make the goal of that agenda any less legitimate. On the other hand it would help some if the agencies and entities involved in moving that agenda forward were to abandon some of their lingo and wonk-speak and be forthright about what they're doing. "Traffic calming" when practiced in the absence of any practical alternative to driving really equates to traffic-obstructing and driver-enraging. Cutting out a traffic lane in favor of a bike lane in a locale where hardly anyone bikes to work amounts to the same thing. No endorsement of a conspiracy theory is needed for citizens to feel frustrated and powerless in the face of the virtually unlimited power some of these agencies wield; they're their own worst enemy.
Did you ever stop to think that roads with no safety features for cyclists are why people don't bike to work? Arlington has discovered that if you build it they will come. Their bicycle trail has brougand up the desirability of living in the town, increased home values, and lead to more bicycling for everyday uses such s commuting and shopping, as well as recreation.
Yeah Katie I'm the real estate brokers in Arlington are heavily pitching the bike lanes first as a major reason to buy in Arlington. Got a % for that increase in home values?
I suppose Renaldo thinks his posting, equating the entire Republican Party with fringe groups, encourages rational discussion here. I vote Republican, am grateful for this column because I honestly have not been able to figure out what is driving the opposition to smart growth and smart environmentalism (as opposed to zoning that also seems an imposition on freedom, we're just used to it). Am even more grateful for SML49's posting that leads to better understanding of the issue.
You have to admit, as the Republican leadership has publicly stated, thatsaving jobs and the economy was not on the Republican leadership's agenda. Defeating Obama, at the expense of having a do-nothing Congress, at the expense of the country, was their only goal.
Democracy and the Bill of Rights really are messy things. How much simpler life would be if we let the best and the brightest give us directions on how to look, act, think, and vote. Fringe groups like the Birthers, and believers in the Bush Administration conspiracy to destroy the twin towers on September 11 would not be allowed to speak their drivel. We could all sit back and believe that there are no such things as hidden agendas or malicious intent. I agree completely with Geolovely, stay involved in your local neighborhood groups and don’t let fools and knaves from any band of the political spectrum hijack your freedoms.
Liberal Democrats and Tea Party Republicans can be contained at the grassroots level.
Define sustaintable development, and the rules and regulations governing land and energy uses and I'll let you know how much I agree with this coloumn.
Here you go ace, it's not that hard to grasp for anyone who's been backpacking: Carry in / carry out. Leave small footprints. If you need more, there's a large numbers of sources that could help you, but to keep it easy for yoy, start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development As for the 'rules and regulations governing land and energy uses', have you even read your local zoning bylaws? If not, start there and come back when you have questions.
Can't have an intelligent conversation with a hater like Kate.
You may not like what Kate said, but she's only paraphrasing the GOP leadership. If they were working for the American people, rather then their 1% overlords who highjacked the partty of Lincoln, then we'd be a lot closer to solving the serious issues that face this nation in the 21st century, rather than trying to turn the clock back to their fantasy of 1928.
When did you ever have an intelligent conversation with anyone? We share the earth. The object is not that you have your way with it or that I have my way with it. It's for BOTH of us to give up a little so we can get along on the same patch of ground. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. It can be part of something. If every proposal for adjustment becomes a polarized issue, we end up hating each other.
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. C. S. Lewis
@Geolovely
Sustainable Devlopment = Carry in/carryout. Got it. Gee here I thought you might want to limit car size. mandate no more than two cars per family. Perhaps linmit the amount of farmland that can be converted into industrial use. Perhaps ban all chemical pesticides on lawns. What are your views on Industrial farming? Views on Genetically modified foods? How about phasing out all ethanol subsidies for corn? Wind Power? You need gas fired backup power power plants. Allow Fracking? Mandate car pooling? limit house size and size of lot to build on? How about family size we know poulation control is important for sustainable development Any views on that Spike or this covered in local zoning laws? Water usage? Do you want to limit private pools, outdoor watering pools gardening? how about only planting certain plants which need less tending and are more native to our environment. Come on Spike I'm sure you have plenty of ideas on how the masses can save the earth for future generations. Do yourself a favor and read the BS that came out of Rio and the EU Union report on Sustainable Development. These are nothing more than central planning blue prints to control every phase of the economy.
Boy "courim' you've sure convinced me. Let's all just throw up our hands and take hemlock. I apologize, you obviosly don't know too little, you know too much, but get so caught up on the details you fail to see a larger picture. You know, it is possible our race has outgrown your apparent Ayn Randian vision of reality, in which case, hemlock may be the way to go for all of us.
"....you have nothing to offer but ad hominems. ....which shows how utterly clueless and bereft of ideas you are." (Too funny!) / / / At the core of Objectivism is the belief that "...each individual has an inalienable moral right to act as his own judgment directs..." and unless you failed to make your point, that sounds like where you were headed. / / / The fact is, with over 6 billion inhabitants and rising, you may not like the Club of Rome's dire predictions, and some of their 40 year old time estimates may have proven too pessimistic, but the fundamental realities they illuminated are inescapable. While I agree that the CORs top down approach is undesirible, it will become increasing unavoidable in the 21st century. Each individual common sense action however, turning off a light, walking instead of driving, paper instead of plastic, helps to forstall the day when we finally must forfeit our rights, or our lives, to our failure to be good environmental stewards. While this generation may avoid the most dire consequences of our unwillingness to act, a refusal to acknowledge that action is needed and our failure to make difficult choices only hastens the inevitabilities our granchildren will be forced to endure. If that's where unbridled Individualism leads, then it is morally bankrupt.
Well Geolovely from your replies you have nothing to offer but ad hominems. Nothing that I have said comes close to Ojectivism which shows how utterly clueless and bereft of ideas you are. Do some reading before you use terms don't understand.
"....you have nothing to offer but ad hominems. ....which shows how utterly clueless and bereft of ideas you are." (Too funny!) / / / At the core of Objectivism is the belief that "...each individual has an inalienable moral right to act as his own judgment directs..." and unless you failed to make your point, that sounds like where you were headed. / / / The fact is, with over 6 billion inhabitants and rising, you may not like the Club of Rome's dire predictions, and some of their 40 year old time estimates may have proven too pessimistic, but the fundamental realities they illuminated are inescapable. While I agree that the CORs top down approach is undesirible, it will become increasing unavoidable in the 21st century. Each individual common sense action however, turning off a light, walking instead of driving, paper instead of plastic, helps to forstall the day when we finally must forfeit our rights, or our lives, to our failure to be good environmental stewards. While this generation may avoid the most dire consequences of our unwillingness to act, a refusal to acknowledge that action is needed and our failure to make difficult choices only hastens the inevitabilities our granchildren will be forced to endure. If that's where unbridled Individualism leads, then it is morally bankrupt.
Geolovely, "While this generation may avoid the most dire consequences of our unwillingness to act, a refusal to acknowledge that action is needed and our failure to make difficult choices'..." Come on what are they? How are you going to get people to do them? That's the question. This isn't about turning off light bulbs. Stop being disingenuous. read a synopsis of the Rio document. Sustainable Development is a loaded term and you know it. Sorry I am not into Dooms Day predictions and as you pointed out the Club of Rome has a lousy track record. Again I asked you a set of questions I placed a value (positive or negative) on none of them how is that Objectivism? you are making unfounded assumptions.