On Jan. 14, 2012, the Republican National Committee unanimously voted to expose and condemn the United Nations Agenda 21. This may be a shock to many GOP incumbents in Congress who receive campaign donations, pre-drafted legislation, and “expert” advice from Agenda 21-inspired advocates of centralized and global human management.
The RNC resolution explains Agenda 21 as “a comprehensive plan of extreme environmentalism, social engineering and global political control, that was initiated at the [1992] United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED);….” The plan was signed by President George H.W. Bush, and has been supported actively by the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations. Agenda 21 has never been endorsed by the U.S. Senate, and is not U.S. law.
Nonetheless, Virginians are impacted by Agenda 21, because local initiatives and organizations are often quietly connected to UN socialistic ideals on environment, agriculture, transportation, and property rights. The International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) uses grant money to local member municipalities to subsidize “sustainable development” policies such as Smart Growth, Wildlands Project, Resilient Cities, Regional Visioning Projects, and other “Green” or “Alternative” projects.
Within the 6th District, ICLEI, a.k.a Local Governments for Sustainability, partners with Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg and Staunton. Republican members of Boards of Supervisor and city councils will now be able to actively and openly work to expose and end these ICLEI partnerships.
Four of the top five agricultural counties in the state are in the 6th District, and most of this agricultural dynamism comes from family-owned farms. Yet the UN Agenda 21 plan describes privately owned farms as “destructive to the environment” and seeks greater zoning manipulation and day-to day controls over methods, land use, production and distribution.
The Founders understood property rights as natural rights, but Agenda 21 sees property rights as revocable tools of the state, to be used to further social justice.
Ten-term 6th District incumbent Bob Goodlatte, like Agenda 21 itself, has been a part of Congress since 1992. He has a long history of promoting “sustainable development,” listening to ICLEI advocates, and encouraging cities and counties to take the “free” money for Agenda 21 projects. On the surface, this isn’t harmful. But given the anti-constitutional and anti-liberty perspectives inherent in Agenda 21, we should certainly wean ourselves from dependency on an organization that hates what America stands for.
It is not a coincidence that five of 16 ICLEI members in Virginia – 33% — are in the 6th District. This RNC resolution to expose and reject Agenda 21 is a powerful first step towards wiser environmentalism and more liberty for Americans everywhere. I hope Bob Goodlatte is listening.
Karen Kwiatkowski, a conservative Mount Jackson cattle farmer and veteran, is challenging Bob Goodlatte in the Sixth District GOP Primary on June 12.
Share
Contributors
