Agenda 21—wow, it does have a sinister ring to it revealing nothing of its origin, intent or purpose. Makes it a perfect target for right wing conspiricists to demagogue, especially if you add United Nations to it. They would have you believe it is a one world government attempt to take over our lives, freedoms and future; the effort of some unseen and unknown entity to control and enslave the entire human race.
The reality is quite different. It is simply a list of best practices for future planning to help us achieve more sustainable communities, communities that can continue to be livable for future generations.
And it is just recommendations without any mandate. Many of these ideas are good and worth adopting; some ideas may not fit and some may conflict with local priorities. None should be anything more than insightful opportunities for local consideration.
So why do some feel that because experts around the world came up with these ideas that they must be a foreign threat that ought to be challenged and dismissed without consideration?
Marion McKeever goes a step further and insults the local boards and commissions that may consider the ideas. She alleges that forcible control is unwittingly being aided and abetted by “the creation of non elected visioning boards and planning commissions.”
As a member of several such boards, and a member of the long standing (not newly created) Cook County Planning Commission, I take umbrage at the suggestion that I am being manipulated by alien forces and do not make decisions based on local interests. It it is an insult to all local volunteers who strive to make our community more livable; to my knowledge all of them are acting solely in the community’s best interests.
That isn’t the end of her claims however, she further states “there is no place in the sustainable world for individual thought, private property, or free enterprise.” Where on earth did she come up with that nonsense?
Nothing could be further from the truth and I defy her, or anyone else to identify a single community that has succumbed to such drivel in the 22 years this policy initiative has existed. Would anyone prefer an unsustainable community? Would they prefer chaos to order?
If anyone has concerns about the decisions made in these volunteer boards and commissions, you are welcome to attend. All that I belong to have place on the agenda for public comment, and all are open to applications to serve.
Becoming a member of one of these boards does have a downside: you will be chastised for your thoughts by those who only have time to complain.
Disagreement, however, is the lifeblood of such gatherings and differs from complaining.
Agenda 21 is food for thought, energy for discourse, and a springboard for community betterment, let’s celebrate the catalyst for sustainability, not condemn it.
Jerry Hiniker
Grand Marais
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