HOW TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

by Tom DeWeese
March 12, 2011
NewsWithViews.com

For the past fifteen years my efforts against Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development have been single-minded – get the message out to tell people about what it is and why it is dangerous to our way of life. All of our materials, special reports, hand outs, speeches, radio and television interviews and DVDs have been created for that purpose.

However, we have had so much success over the past year in getting that message out that we are now faced with a new problem. People are getting the message. They know what the problem is. So they are asking the next logical question – how do we fight back? It sounds like and easy question to be put to someone like me who has worked on the issue and sounded the alarm for so long. But in fact, actually having success in organizing people to fight Sustainable Development in their local communities is a very new thing.

I could blow smoke at them and pretend I know the answer. That would just be sending lambs to the slaughter. It’s easy to stand in front of a friendly audience and dazzle them with facts and figures, get them riled and then tell them to charge down to city council as I make a quick exit from town. And I have done that many times. The truth is, however, I have never stood in front of city councils or county commissions and endured their sarcasm as I tried to question their policies or explain where it comes from.

So, now, as more and more call my office asking what to do next, I felt it was vital that I learn first hand how to fight back and then share that experience to make our fight more effective and eventually successful in stopping Sustainable Development. That’s what I’ve been doing in my local community for the past five months. I’ve also been traveling across the state of Virginia, working with local activists in their communities and learning from them. Recently I joined fellow Virginia activist Donna Holt as we presented the case against sustainable development to the staff of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. We have also been successful so far in working with the Virginia legislature to move a bill that will end mandatory comprehensive development plans in local communities. The sustainabilists have been using legislation passed in Virginia in 2007 as an effective weapon to force the policy on local communities. It hasn’t passed yet, but we forced it out of committee over the objections of the VA Speaker of the House. That alone was a victory in that it started debate on the issue, something that has been missing at the state level. Such legislative action can serve as a model for legislators around the nation.

The fight has only begun, but I and these fellow activists are learning a lot. So, to help all of the movement to take on the fight in their community, I want to share what we’ve learned so far.

Be aware of the world in which your elected officials live

To begin the effort to fight back against Sustainable Development it is vital to first understand the massive structure you are facing. You need to know who the players are and you need to understand the political world your officials are operating in. This may help you to understand that perhaps they aren’t all evil globalists, but, perhaps, good people who are surrounded by powers that won’t let them see the reality of the policies they are helping to implement. I’m certainly not making excuses for them, but before you rush in and start yelling about their enforcing UN policies on the community, here are some things you should consider.

In most communities, you mayor, city council members and county commissioners are automatically members of national organizations like the National Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, and the national associations for city council members, and the same for commissioners. Those in the state government also have the National Governors Association and state legislators have their national organization. For the past fifteen years or more, each and every one of these national organizations have been promoting Sustainable Development. The National Mayors Conference and the Governors Association have been leaders in this agenda, many times working directly with UN organizations to promote the policy. This is the message your local elected leaders hear; from the podium; from fellow officials from other communities; from “expertsâ€