ALLIANCE FOR CITIZENS RIGHTS

COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING (continued):
A series of articles for The Beacon newspaper covering Shelby and other Alabama Counties' move toward Comprehensive Planning and what it means for the long term.
by Don Casey


ARTICLE 13: The Shelby County Plan (continued)

Read it here first! - America proclaims a merger of Church and state!

It is necessary to establish a common frame of reference for religion before presenting evidence that a church-state merger has officially occurred.

Religion is a philosophical framework based on perceived truths or facts. Individuals, believing that they have selected a truthful framework, fashion their lifestyle to conform to the concepts and principles that reflect their selection. The philosophical framework is used to determine how the individual interacts with the environment and society. Societies differ greatly when declaring a philosophy.

    Example:
  • Russia proclaimed a philosophy that there is no God. The atheistic religion is commonly referred to as Humanism.
  • Middle eastern countries generally accept a philosophy based on the Muslim faith.

In both examples their respective philosophy proclaims that their selection is a truism for all times. Neither example cited affords its citizens liberty of the mind and freedoms of religion or expression outside the party-line.

In Biblical days, as accounted in Acts chapter 17, Paul proclaimed a new religion to the great philosophers of the day on Mars Hill in Athens. The religion of which Paul spoke would produce a society of free man whose labor has produced the strongest nation in the history of man.

Today, a new religion has found favor with US Government officials. Respect and adherences to this new religion by officials is such that edicts issued by government will force compliance with the new morality. A prime example is the United States Department of Agriculture Directive 9500-6. This directive was reported by the United States to the United Nations as part of the U.S. compliance in implementing "sustainable development/agenda 21."[1] Section 4c of the directive directs all responsible officers to implement the tenets of the new religion:

    "The philosophy, concepts and principles of sustainable development, involving the balancing of environmental quality, economic development, and the vitality of rural communities, shall be incorporated, as appropriate, into all appropriate Department regulations, policies, and programs, including strategic planning documents, work plans, and performance appraisals."[2]

If you are skeptical that this is truly a new religion, suppose the preceding quote was altered to read: "The philosophy, concepts and principles of the Christian Faith, involving the balancing of environmental quality, economic development, and the vitality of rural communities, shall be incorporated, as appropriate, into all appropriate Department regulations, policies, and programs, including strategic planning documents, work plans, and performance appraisals."

A Directive from the USDA requiring Christian principles be implemented utilizing "Department regulations, policies, and programs," would, as most would acknowledge, violate society's viewpoint that "church and state" must remain separate. But when "sustainable principles" as a base for ethical values is written into government regulation silence can be heard throughout the land.

Any true religion will have missionaries, individuals dedicated to spreading the "philosophy, concepts and principles" of their newfound truth. The church of "sustainable development" is in compliance, graduating able missionaries (or facilitators) from "government schools". Finding "government schools" that certify "missionaries/facilitators is easily accomplished with the internet search engine Google. The following search criterion was utilized: syllabus theology "sustainable development". The search produced numerous college course descriptions from across the globe. North Carolina University at Chapel Hill[3] (UNC) has, based on an examination of the search results, had the longest running college course used to spread the "sustainable development" gospel.

Graduates from the UNC course... "will focus on the social and cultural aspects of communities that are relevant for sustainable development facilitators. Facilitators are teachers, trainers and organizers who serve as "cultivators" and "midwives" for community change. They may be social workers, planners, administrators, public health workers or educators."[3b]

"Students will analyze their own strengths for this work and the strengths of a community in which they plan to develop a real or hypothetical sustainable development project. Near the end of the semester students will present a participatory plan for engaging with the community for sustainable development work." Included in the course is a list of assigned reading includes books which "...represent ideas from a spiritual/ecological perspective,..."[3b]

It cannot be said with certainty that the authors of the Shelby County, Alabama Comprehensive Plan graduated from the University of North Carolina, but training from a similar course is virtually certain. In part three, page 126 - Implementation of the Shelby County Plan the missionary/facilitator/planner states: "...the County seeks to influence market trends to effect development patterns to create sustainable communities." Details of the County's plan are similar to numerous communities in Alabama and across America.

"Cultivators" and "midwives" have learned their lessons well. Through their efforts the transformation of the United States to the new religion of "sustainable development" is well underway.

Right will be wrong and wrong will be right.

FOOTNOTES:
1. http://www.un.org/esa/agenda21/natlinfo/countr/usa/natur.htm
2. The Directive may be read at: http://www.usda.gov/sustainable/
3A. - syllabus from 1998 -
http://www.ucis.unc.edu/Resources/UCIS_funded_courses/sowo238.html
3B. - syllabus from 2002 -
http://comm-org.utoledo.edu/syllabi/gamblesd.htm

ARTICLE 14: The Shelby County Plan (continued)

New words and phrases creep into our vocabulary with uncanny regularity. "Weapons of Mass Destruction" a new phrase in short order became WMD. TV and print media use the initials WMD without relating it to the complete phrase because it is so recognizable. Sustainable Development SD is another new phrase that is quickly gaining acceptance. It is literally everywhere and has devotees from all walks of life woh religiously tout its benefits though it is philosophically empty. Our society, without question, is in the process of accepting this new worldview as gospel. The new system encompases every aspect of our lives - social, economic and environmental - and has pushed the remnant of the Christian system aside. In some cases the two have been merged to produce a new version of Christianity with a different set of goals. Hopefully the following will allow some to see the emerging new system for what it is. This article begins with a simple question relating to Christianity which should demonstrate the difficulty involved in explaining a philosophy, its concepts and principles.

What is Christianity? The simplistic answer is: Christ died for my sins and therefore I have eternal life. If queried further the typical Christian would likely respond with a list of conditions that a Christian is expected to live by. The list, in most cases, provides a mental picture of that lifestyle. The same descriptive method that would describe a Christian lifestyle will be used to define and or describe "sustainable development".

Touting the primary principle upon which the philosophy is based, sustainable development begins with a "commission" - the Brundtland Commission funded by the United Nations which coined the phrase for "Sustainable Development" and wrote the initial definition:

    "the capacity to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."[1]

This misleading statement is the philosophical bedrock for SD and every individual is expected to accept the basic tenets of the philosophy. When all three aspects of SD (social, economic and environmental) are merged under governmental guidelines "sustainable development" is said to be in the offing. "Development" points to the fact that "sustainability" is never attained, it is always in the "development" stage, which is always under the watchful "development" eye of government. Constant monitoring is therefore required to determine if every individual and every community is moving toward the goal. The first phase for local "sustainability" begins with community comprehensive planning which generally defines the look and feel of the community's appearance. Warm and fuzzy names like, "Traditional Neighborhood Development" (TND) are use to describe a new land use designation that requires, among other aspects, small narrow lots less than 50 feet wide. In Boise, Idaho, lots in a TND are as small as 16 feet wide.[2] In Portland, Oregon, 15 foot wide houses are sold for $175,000. In Athens, Alabama, lots must be smaller than 50 feet wide (the actual width has yet to be determined).

A created shortage of available real estate, due to "sustainable" governmental regulations, artificially inflates land value. Hence the $175,000 price tag for an entry level house in Portland. Artificially inflated land value is another downside of the new religion.

    Residents of "sustainable communities" can look forward to:
  • Family diversity training - a necessity. Includes denying one religion is superior to others.
  • Offer volunteer time from the state authorized charity list. Increases the worth of your money credits in the new system.
  • Report any hate sermons that label homosexual activity an abomination before God. Also report all in attendance that did not object to the sermon.
  • Acknowledge that the state can create jobs, certify workers, determine a living wage and where the jobs and workers are to be located.
  • Understand that your deeded property is yours on a "permitted" bases only, stakeholder evaluation is critical for continued "permitted" use!
  • As primary care givers of the state's children, parents must ensure their attendance at an authorized school.
  • Acknowledge that abortion (murder) is a medical procedure.
  • Accept the new money system, which credits your account in accordance with your interaction with the environment and the community.
  • Regularly evaluate your lifestyle to determine if further sacrifices can be made to benefit nature and society - submitting reports to appropriate authorities. The process is generally referred to as your "ecological footprint". Go to http://www.lead.org/leadnet/footprint/intro.htm to fill out an on line form that will give you an idea of your current ecological standing. The course material is part of the government school curriculum.

Of course, the points that have been raised are indicators that measure progress towards "sustainable development". They do not explain the "philosophical framework" of "sustainable development" any more than observing the lifestyle of a Christian explains the teachings of Christ. But, they should offer a glimpse of life in the new "sustainable" community.

In the following quote from the Shelby County Comprehensive Plan notice how the warm and fuzzy feeling is expressed in the first sentence which cushions the "bottom line" in the second sentence. "These new communities will be planned as vibrant, attractive places to live, work and play. They will be planned as comprehensive, sustainable communities, featuring all the goods, services, civic functions and housing choices required to serve the population."[3]

Yes, the citizens of "sustainable communities" can relax while government provides everything including a choice in housing. As Henry Ford use to say the customer can have any color he wants as long as its black.

FOOTNOTES
1. http://vienna.usembassy.gov/en/policy/sust_dev.htm
2. http://www.cityofboise.org/pds/Comp-Plan/New-Urbanism.pdf
3. page 68 of part two - Implementation

ARTICLE 15: The Shelby County Plan (continued)

The United States Department of Agriculture's directive 9500-6 requires all "Responsible line officers" to incorporate the essence of religion ("philosophy, concepts and principles") into all regulations written by their department. The new religion? Commonly referred to as "sustainable development". Pledging allegiance to the concept of "sustainable development," high ranking officials from 11 Federal agencies created "a collaborative network of Federal Agencies."[1A] Signing the document on Earth Day 2000, officials of the United States government pledged to "act as a catalyst for change".[1A]

At the local level the new religion has gained favor and is now officially endorsed in local policy statements/comprehensive plans for cities and counties across the country, completing the merger of church and state.

It is too early to determine if Shelby County, Alabama will become know as the "Free Will Baptist" or the "Hard Shell Baptist of the "Sustainable Development" movement. The following quotes from the Shelby County, Alabama's Comprehensive Plan may help the reader formulate an opinion: "Green Infrastructure - The major underlying tenant of the plan is green infrastructure. It is the foundation for where and how development occurs and should be the principal factor determining where growth should be directed to achieve a sustainable development pattern.[1]

"Shelby County recognizes that this current trend is not a sustainable development pattern."[2] (Meaning: society must change in order to become sustainable.)

"....new communities will be planned...They will be planned as comprehensive, sustainable communities, featuring all the goods, services, civic functions and housing choices required to serve the population.[3]

"Through various 'out of the box' implementation methods...the County seeks to influence market trends to effect development patterns to create sustainable communities."[4]

Shelby County's sustainable gurus intend to "...provide for a diverse, stimulating social, cultural, recreation and spiritual environment."[5]

Indeed Mt. Laurel located in the northeast section of the county was designed as a "Traditional Neighborhood Development" - a development concept of a sustainable community.[6] As such it may soon see "performance teams" (PT) consisting of two or more volunteers surveying a section or sections of their community. Shelby County's PTs may be patterned after "sustainable" programs in communities across the country - Seattle, Washington [7A], many communities in Iowa [7B], Worcester, Mass. [7C], Minneapolis, Minn. [7D] and New York [7E]. Performance Teams are part of "Computerized Neighborhood Environment Tracking" or ComNET.

Monitoring neighborhoods in "sustainable communities", the ComNET program provides a Palm Pilot or similar PDA (personal digital assistant) which has a built in digital camera with wireless internet connection. Performance Teams, typically consist of three members and are assigned a territory of several blocks. During the walking inspection two "Team" members observe violation and or infrastructure problems. The information is reported to the third "team" member assigned to enter the data in the PDA's preinstalled software. Pictures of violations accompany standardized reports that are immediately transmitted via the internet to the appropriate government agency.[7]

"Performance measures" published in the "Neighborhood Sustainability Indicators Guidebook"8 written by Crossroads Resource Center[9], a partnership of government and private organizations are likely typical measurements that could be used as a guide to determine a community's "sustainability index". Information from randomly selected residents in the targeted neighborhood would be logged into the PDA and immediately sent to the government agency delegated the overseeing responsibility. The first set of measurements could be a benchmark. Data from future surveys would provide comparison data to determine if the targeted community was moving toward "sustainability".

    The following is a sample from the "Guidebook".
  • "Percent of residents who have regular contact with ten or more of their immediate neighbors. This is a measure of social cohesion of the neighborhood."
  • "Percent of residents who walk to local stores to purchase most life essentials."
  • "Percent of food consumed in neighborhood that is grown within 50 miles of neighborhood (with a separate reporting for food grown inside neighborhood)."
  • "Ecological footprint of neighborhood population. This is essentially a measure of the number of acres of land required to support a person's lifestyle."
  • "Percent of neighbor hood organization budget spent for R&D."
  • "Percent of residents who regularly celebrate their cultural heritage."
  • "Percent of loans obtained by residents from local credit sources (including individual lenders, credit union, and local lending institutions)."

This writer believes that one "measurement" was missing from the "Guidebook:" the attitude of the resident. After all, happy "sustainable communities" should have happy "sustainable residents".

FOOTNOTES
1 - 4 Shelby County Comprehensive Plan available on the following web site:
1. part three page 127
1A. http://www.federalsustainability.org/about/statement-of-unity.pdf
2. part two page 67
3. part two page 68
4. part three page 126
5. part two page 55 http://www.mtlaurel.com/ Also check http://www.peck.ca/nua/ip/ip01.htm for a listing of other features of a "sustainable community"
7. http://www.fcny.org/cmgp/comnet.htm
7A. http://www.sustainableseattle.org/Programs/NeighborhoodIndicators.shtml
7B. http://www.iowacipa.org/ for a list of cities in Iowa - http://www.iowacipa.org/home/cities.htm
7C. http://www.wrrb.org/Neighborhood/
7D. http://www.wrrb.org/Neighborhood/
7E http://www.fcny.org/cmgp/comnet.htm
8. http://www.crcworks.org/guide.pdf
9. http://www.crcworks.org/partners.html


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