by Berit Kjos
Bicycles instead of cars? Dense apartment clusters instead of single homes? Community rituals instead of churches? “Human rights” instead of religious freedom? The UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) which met June 3-14 in Istanbul, painted an alarming picture of the 21st century community. The American ways-free speech, individualism, travel, and Christianity-are out. A new set of economic, environmental, and social guidelines are in. Citizenship, democracy, and education have been redefined. Handpicked civil leaders will implement UN “laws”, bypassing state and national representatives to work directly with the UN. And politically correct “tolerance”-meaning “the rejection of dogmatism and absolutism” as well as “appreciation” for the world’s religions and lifestyles-is “not only a moral duty, it is also a political and legal requirement.”1
Hard to believe? Not for veteran UN observers who faced boos and hisses for expressing concern in open UN assemblies. Nor for pro-family members of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) who faced exclusion from public dialogues for opposing feminist commander Bella Abzug and her radical agenda. And not for those who watched the ecstatic welcome given Fidel Castro and his anti-American diatribe.
Yet, our president and our non-elected American delegates, headed by U.S. Secretary Henry Cisneros, endorse this revolutionary plan, and our U.S. Department of Education is already establishing the framework for its local implementation. Why? What is happening?
PRO-COMMUNIST IDEALS. “We are the world and the world does not yield to masters nor to suicidal policies,” declared Castro, concluding his June 14 plenary remarks aimed at Western capitalist nations. “The world does not accept that a minority of selfish, insane and irresponsible people lead it to annihilation.”
“Fidel, Fidel…” shouted the audience. The thunderous applause followed him all the way back to the Cuban section on the other side of the hall, where fans lined up to shake his hand.
Why are you so enthusiastic?” I asked some of his fans after the session.
“Because he stood up to America,” someone answered.
“Because he is a living myth,” explained another. “He was a simple guerrilla, fighting for the oppressed against the rich and powerful.”
“Fighting for the oppressed…” The UN claims that mission, but third-world women who have faced its abusive birth control practices tell a different story. Like the Communist Manifesto, the alluring UN promises designed to win support cloak an agenda that shows little compassion once power has been won.
In fact, Communist ideology permeated major NGO (non-governmental organizations) workshops, official UN literature, and the organizational guidelines for local communities. Entering the huge “Best Practices” exhibition of model cities, visitors immediately faced wall-sized pictures and elaborate models of Chinese housing projects and community plans. Displays from the rest of the world shared the strips along the outer perimeter of the cavernous hall.
Behind the huge Chinese section, visitors watched Turner Broadcasting videos. Featuring Jane Fonda who once brought anti-American greetings to North Vietnam, each film taught a politically correct plan for personal empowerment: A roomful of men learn to use Singer sewing machines. Women are trained to run a collective construction company. A sad mother holding a crying baby brings a politically correct message: “Baby Miguel’s life would be different if his mother was educated and working.” A tough Jamaican supervisor at a women’s collective shouts, “We don’t want to make babies, we want to make money! We can become meaningful people to society without having children! WE MUST PRODUCE, NOT REPRODUCE!”
POPULATION CONTROL. The Turner-Fonda message matches the feminist agenda. Former U.S. congresswoman Bella Abzug,2 who had led the onslaught on traditional values at the 1995 UN conference in Beijing, now helped engineer an official partnership between UN leaders, national delegates, and NGOs that support the UN gender agenda. Stationed around the world, her feminist troops promise to serve as watchdogs, making sure “civil society” implements their program for indoctrinating students with feminist ideology. Inspired by the spirits of earthy goddesses such as Athena and Ishtar whom they worshipped in Beijing, they have little tolerance for Christians and others who oppose their agenda.
“We want to change things,” declared Abzug. “We’ll be on executive boards. We want the participation of NGO’s on the security council.”
She serves the globalist purpose well. Mobilizing worldwide rebellion against Christian values, pushing birth control and gender-role equality for every family, demanding sex education for every student, and requiring international surveillance to monitor compliance, her followers are speeding the global revolution. Like countless other UN partners, they are winning by propaganda, intimidation, and growing popular consent.
Note that population control means controlling people, not merely births. Regarded as international law, the Habitat Agenda negotiated in Istanbul includes all the intrusive action plans outlined at former UN world conferences. “We want to ensure that previously endorses language [from former UN conferences] is upheld and incorporated into this document,” declared Henry Cisneros, U.S. Secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) who led the US delegation.3
This “international law” would limit not only the size of the world population but also housing, production, consumption, parenting, communication, and religious expression.4 Its alarming resemblance to the USSR Constitution5 implies far greater restrictions than those specifically stated in the Habitat Agenda. Since many specifics were detailed at previous UN conferences, it cannot be fully understood outside the context of the progressive plan for global governance as outlined in all the documents.
Training in global citizenship would begin with the universal education system outlined at the 1990 UN World Conference on Education for All. It matches Goals 2000, America’s version of the international education system. Already molding minds around the world, the UN plan for “lifelong learning” indoctrinates young and old with the socialist ideology and earth-centered spirituality designed to create solidarity, an essential element to the envisioned world of peace.
SOLIDARITY. Traditional beliefs simply don’t fit the UN vision for 21st Century communities. To find more universal values, Habitat leaders convened a day-long “Dialogue” on the meaning of Solidarity at the elegant Ciragan Palace in Istanbul. The official list of 21 panel members included former Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek, historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr, and Maurice Strong6 who led the 1992 UN conference on environment.
“I have gathered leaders with tremendous wisdom and prestige,” began Habitat Secretary-General Wally N’Dow. “They are bringing the spiritual dimension-the only ingredient that can bind societies together.” He had chosen an American moderator who would add credibility to the discussion: Robert MacNeil (of MacNeil-Lehrer), “one of the spiritual lights of the media industry today.”
This hand-picked “interfaith group” left little doubt that solidarity meant a universal shift to the new globalist-New Age paradigm (or world-view). “Change your whole way of thinking, because the new order of the spirit is confronting and challenging you,” said Millard Fuller, President of Habitat for Humanity.
“Citizenship for the next century is learning to live together,” said Federico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO. “The 21st Century city will be a city of social solidarity…. We have to redefine the words… [and write a new] social contract.”
“We should stop bemoaning the growth of cities,” added Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Vice President of The World Bank. “It’s going to happen and it’s a good thing, because cities are the vectors of social change and transformation. Let’s just make sure that social change and transformation are going in the right direction.” Later he added, “The media must act as part of the education process that counters individualism.”
The heart of lifelong education would be spiritual training. “What’s needed is an interfaith center in every city of the globe,” said James Morton, dean of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, who organized the panel. “The new interfaith centers will honor the rituals of every… faith tradition: Islam, Hinduism, Jain, Christian [a cross-less version that blends with other beliefs]… and provide opportunity for sacred expressions needed to bind the people of the planet into a viable, meaningful, and sustainable solidarity.”
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. The guiding principle of the new universal education system is “sustainable development.” People everywhere must be taught “facts” about environmental “risks” that are sensational enough to scare them into compliance. They must be persuaded to accept unthinkable limits on consumption, land use, transportation, and family size. Everyone must protect resources for future generations, say UN leaders, but they agree that the real meaning of sustainability is based on the E’s: Environment, Economy, and Equity, which point to a redistribution of the world’s resources-money, energy, water, and people-in order to create global equality.
History has shown the emptiness of these promises. Long ago the Communist Manifesto announced a proletarian revolution which would empower the poor by redistributing wealth. Everyone would be equal. Men and women alike would join the socialist workforce, and children would be trained by the state.
It happened! All but the leaders became equally poor, and all the children were indoctrinated with an anti-Christian socialist philosophy. Morally and economically, the masses sank to the level of the lowest common denominator.
The similarities between the Communist Manifesto and the UN agenda (outlined in the Beijing Declaration and incorporated into the Habitat Agenda) should be a call to action. Both revolutions–
* Use psychology and sociology to establish the victimhood, blame and anger needed to fuel the revolution.
* Use education to conform minds to the new ideology.
* Use synthesis (blending opposing views into compromise beliefs that match new goals) to produce group consensus.
* Promise economic equality to seduce the masses.
* Spread hatred toward “extremists” who refuse to compromise.
The Communist Manifesto led to religious, moral and economic bankruptcy. Yet UN-led activists and their US partners are determined to fulfill their utopian visions.
IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN. The US Network for Habitat II is one of a myriad of national and international UN organizations committed to carry out the UN plan in local communities. “The Network is a forum for making sure people are heard,” explained one of its leaders. “Its role is to tie together the messages from all six UN conferences into practical action.”7
“Partnerships will be increasingly important,” he continued. “People in faith communities can help us. We use the African proverb: “‘It takes a village to raise a child.’
…Collaboration that links…government, the private sector, and the civil sector.”
Do you see the resemblance to the “People’s Government” that characterized the local “soviets” in the former USSR? Lenin knew he couldn’t win through representative democracy, so he organized local assemblies called Soviets. Linked through a national federation of Soviets, each local Soviet was ruled by the uneducated proletariat, the “raw material to be molded by an audacious leader”8 skilled in the use of propaganda. Private merchants, landlords, and priests were excluded from leadership. The chosen elites were supervised and disciplined by rulers at a higher level. Few dared complain. As Andrei Vishinsky wrote in The Law of the Soviet State, “There can be no place for freedom of speech, press, and so on for the foes of socialism.”9
The UN plan matches US plans. The UN agenda fits well into the policy-making framework already being established in US communities. Three official plans for transforming cities show how UN tactics for change works hand-in-globe with US strategies.
In 1995, school districts from coast to coast were asked to use Education Secretary Riley’s Community Action Toolkit to change public opinion and win support for Goals 2000. In 1996, two similar plans for local transformation were introduced:
* The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide, the Habitat II action plan based on Agenda 21, the environmental program negotiated at the 1992 UN World Conference on Environment and Development.
* Sustainable America: A New Consensus, a report by The President’s Council for Sustainable Development.
The striking similarity between the three plans suggest an alarming cooperation between the UN and US authors. All three share the following buzzwords or concepts: partnerships, consensus, lifelong learning, baselines or benchmarks, monitoring, assessment, data gathering, systemic change, system thinking, social development, etc. All stress the need to measure, assess, and monitor progress.
All are designed to bypass traditional government and govern people through a form of “citizens” or “grassroots participation” which the Encyclopedia Britannica refers to as “totalitarian democracy” and Communist leaders have called “People’s Government.” In the US, this system is already bypassing both state and national representative governments. As in Lenin’s Soviets, neither UN forums nor the US community meetings on education will acknowledge dissenting voices. Resisters are silenced by trained facilitators who only record voices that echo the “right” ideology.10
Notice below how the UN’s Local Agenda 21 and President Clinton’s Sustainable America fit into the new bureaucratic framework already being established through America’s official Community Action Toolkit. Note also how they match Hitler’s strategies, which he learned from watching the USSR.
“STEP 1: IDENTIFY A LEADERSHIP TEAM” (11)
“Concentrate on gaining the involvement of the 15 percent of people typically open to new ideas-and ask them to help involve the other 75 percent…. Try not to spend too much time responding to the… unwelcome actions of the 10 percent who may actively oppose your change efforts…”12 (Community Action Toolkit)
Hitler’s Mein Kampf: “The most striking success of a revolution will always have been achieved when the new philosophy of life as far as possible has been taught to all men, and if necessary, later forced upon them.”13 He tells his followers to “sift the human material it wins into two large groups: supporters and members…. A supporter of a movement is one who declares himself to be in agreement with its aims, a member is one who fights for them…. and corresponds only to the minority of men.”14
Local Agenda 21 (UN): “The proper selection of participants for the Stakeholder Group and its Working Groups is perhaps the most critical step in establishing a partnership planning process. The composition of the participants will determine…consensus for action…. Include… representatives of groups who are traditionally underrepresented” including “special groups of people (women, youth and indigenous people)… media, environmentalists….”15 Consider “the inclusion of individuals with credibility….” (p. 22)
Sustainable America: “Steps should be taken to ensure that historically under-represented groups are involved.” (p. 90) “Building stronger links… can revitalize grassroots democracy….” (p. 89)
“STEP 2: DEVELOP A COMMON VISION”
“Two vision-building tools are discuseed-holding community meetings and conducting surveys.”16 (Community Action Toolkit)
Local Agenda 21 (UN): “The first task of such a Stakeholder Group is to formulate a Community Vision which describes the community’s ideal future and expresses a local consensus….” (p. 8)
Sustainable America: “Through a series of meetings and events, the community develops a vision for its future.” (p. 88) “In Portland, Oregon, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Seattle, WA… citizens are participating in community “visioning” exercises. Through these, they typically envision a safe and healthy community….” (p. 76)
Hitler: When a movement harbors the purpose of tearing down a world and building another in its place, complete clarity must reing in the ranks of its own leadership….”17
“STEP 3: DEVELOP A STRATEGY”
“Specify Goals, Set Benchmarks, Describe Allies and Opponents, Identify Change Agents, Develop Action Steps….” 18 (Community Action Toolkit)
Sustainable America: “Specific economic, environmental, and social goals are determined…. Next, the community sets priorities for its goals, identifies specific actions, and establishes indicators or benchmarks to measure progress….” (p. 88)
Local Agenda 21: “Establish distinct Working Group structures under the supervision of the Stakeholder Group… Working Groups are given responsibility for … priority setting, issue analysis, visioning, action planning, implementation….” (p. 15) “…it is vital that concrete targets be developed…. They also are used to measure progress….” (p. 103)
“STEP 4: IMPLEMENT… AND EVALUATE….”
“Create a timeline, measure results, gather data….” (Community Action Toolkit)
Sustainable America: “National indicators of public well-being will build on the information identified, gathered, and disseminated….” (p. 67) “Education for sustainability is lifelong….Benefits… include an understanding of… social and economic changes that will affect their lives.” (p. 72)
Local Agenda 21: “The key to successful community-based assessment process is to link the use of participant assessment exercises and expert technical assessments…. The full assessment exercise can be used to educate residents and stakeholders.” (p. 51)
“Tools used for the presentation of information can range from workshops to puppet theaters….” (p. 53)
“GUIDE TO GETTING OUT YOUR MESSAGE”
“Find information that lends credence to your argument and creates a sense of urgency.” “One of the best ways to influence public opinion is to influence the news and information that people rely upon in making decisions.”19 (Community Action Toolkit)
Hitler: “The first task of propaganda is to win people for subsequent organization…. The second task of propaganda is the disruption of the existing state of affairs and the permeation of this state of affairs with the new doctrine….”20
Sustainable America: “Community-based coalitions can create educational media campaigns…, disseminate high-quality information on community issues, and promote public discussions that identify solutions to problems.” (p. 90) “Accurate information built on basic scientific research established the foundation of knowledge needed for sound decisionmaking….” (p. 61)
Agenda 21: Use “neighborhood surveys, community meetings, and public forums to directly engage the resident population in identifying and analyzing issues….” (p. 45)
* * *
FALSIFYING EVIDENCE TO WIN SUPPORT. “Accurate information” and “analyzing issues” are two of many seductive euphemism that deceive the public. Truth and facts matter little. What counts are stories and “scientific” arguments that evoke the “right” response: a willingness to submit to unthinkable controls in order to save the earth. For a glimpse at the twisted data used as evidence for environmental risks, ponder the following comment by Dr. Frederick Seitz, past President of the National Academy of Sciences:
“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN organization regarded by many as the best source of scientific information about the human impact on the earth’s climate, released “The Science of Climate Change 1995″…. I have never witnessed a more disturbing corruption of the peer review process…. More than 15 sections… were changed or deleted after the scientists charged with examining this question had accepted the supposedly final text… The following passages are examples of those deleted:
* “None of the studies cited above has shown clear evidence that we can attribute the observed climate changes to… increases in greenhouse gases.”
* “No study to date has positively attributed all or part of the climate change to… man-made causes.”
“IPCC reports are often called the “consensus” view. If they lead to carbon taxes and restraints on economic growth, they will have a major and almost certainly destructive impact on the economies of the world…. Their effect is to deceive policy makers and the public into believing that the scientific evidence shows human activities are causing global warming.21
“Without “proof” that humans cause global warming, globalist lose their strongest argument for world governance. Therefore they cannot let mere facts slow the spreading public persuasion that humanity’s future rests in the hands of UN-US environmental ‘saviors.'”
BUT GOD STILL REIGNS. “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?” asked the psalmist. “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.”
The words King David wrote more than 2000 years ago, fit our times. Then as now, the leaders joined together to plot the end of God’s reign. They would destroy His influence, break free from His natural order, and establish a new form of government based on their own imagination. History shows the devastating results. But God continues to reign! No matter how much people shun, mock or slander Him, He remains God. We, not He, become the losers when we ignore Him and shun His truth.
“The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing, He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect,” wrote the author of Psalm 33. “The counsel of the Lord stands forever.” To those who know His wisdom, that’s good news!
The bad news is that most of the world is following false counsel. It’s time for Americans wake up, return to God, and stand together against the oppressive forces that now surround and permeate America.
Meanwhile there is no need for fear. Someone has wisely said, “Christianity is designed to be lived in difficult places.” No matter how hard it gets, He offers shelter to all who trust Him and follow His wisdom.
For practical information about the international education system, global beliefs and values, environmental hoaxes, and community control over families, read Brave New Schools (Harvest House Publishers) by Berit Kjos. Available through Christian bookstores or call 1-800-544-8927
ENDNOTES:
1 The Declaration of Principles on Tolerance, adopted and signed by the Member States of the UNESCO on 16 November, 1995.
2 Bella Abzug founded WEDO (Women’s Environmental and Development Organization), which has joined with other feminist NGOs to form the Supercoalition.
3 US Press briefing, Istanbul, June 14, 1996.
4 Habitat Agenda items: 54, 103, 16, 9,19, 97, 52 and others.
5 Documented in a report by Linda Liotta and Joan Veon.
6 Maurice Strong failed to come as scheduled.
7 NGO press briefing, Istanbul, June 13, 1996.
8 Encyclopedia Britannica (Chicago: William Benton, 1968), 19, p. 815.
9 Ibid., Vol. 5, p. 163.
10 The Delphi Technique for producing a semblance of consensus pervades community forums on education. Brave New Schools (Harvest House Publishers) describes the process.
11Community Action Toolkit (National Education Goals Panel, 1994), cog-5.
12 Ibid., goym-6, 7.
13 Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (Cambridge: Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1943), 582.
14 Ibid., 581.
15 The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide (Toronto: International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, 1996), p. 20-21.
16 Community Action Toolkit, cog-8.
17 Hitler, 581.
18 Community Action Toolkit, cog-33.
19 Ibid., Goym-12, 28.
20 Hitler, 581-582.
21 Frederick Seitz, “A Major Deception on Global Warming,” The Wall Street Journal, 12 June 1996.
