After World War II there were trials for Nazi war criminals in Nuremberg, Germany. The trials were conducted by the Allies. On the whole, very few war criminals were prosecuted. Those who were repeatedly stated that they were just following orders and it was the responsibility of those who were higher up in the chain of command to act in an ethical manner. Going along to get along. Good Germans.
But the prosecutors and Judges in these trials did not accept the 'just following orders' defense. Ethical people should be able to determine right from wrong and refuse to go along to get along, even when it meant they may themselves suffer. The Nuremberg Principles say that even if given an order to take an action that is wrong, a decent human being has the right and duty to disobey. The right and duty. The duty to disobey when ordered to take an action in violation of common decency or law.
Once I was in an American airport and asked a group of soldiers who were waiting to fly somewhere if they had heard of the Nuremberg Principles. They had not. I asked them if they knew that it was their right and duty to disobey an unethical order. They all said that they had not been taught that. Sir, yes, sir!
Planners in the United States have been trained to follow rules and regulations that restrict the free use of private property. They see themselves as the gatekeepers of the environment and the rulebook, the General Plan, that dictates what is allowed in their municipality. I have spoken to hundreds of planners, some of whom say that they try to help property owners 'get around' the rules. This is not good enough.
There should be Nuremberg Principles for Planners. Laws that protect a planner's job if she or he refuses to enforce a rule, regulation, restriction, ordinance, statute, or law that violates private property rights. Planners who are 'just following orders' are on the frontlines of regulatory takings and radical fines and penalties. Indoctrinated and brainwashed by years of propaganda---Growing Smart: Legislative Guidebook with Model Statutes for Planning and the Management of Change---planners must free their minds and professional organizations from rules that are unethical and wrong. Government by unelected boards and commissions is unacceptable in the United States. Consultants' contracts should be immediately terminated. Non-governmental organizations have no place in government. Planners should be retrained to understand private property rights and their importance to a free nation.
Smart Growth, mixed use, high density urban development, and redevelopment projects are public private partnerships and reward cronies while creating the hardscape for the herd. Restrictive ditch setbacks, buffer zones, shoreline bands, viewsheds, and other regulatory takings selectively pick winners and losers and destroy lives.
If you are a planner, know that we will stand with you and come to your defense if you refuse to enforce unethical rules. Speak out and inform the Planning Commission and your Council or Board of Supervisors that you will no longer conspire to destroy private property rights.
Speak out. Stand up. STOP UN AGENDA 21.
But the prosecutors and Judges in these trials did not accept the 'just following orders' defense. Ethical people should be able to determine right from wrong and refuse to go along to get along, even when it meant they may themselves suffer. The Nuremberg Principles say that even if given an order to take an action that is wrong, a decent human being has the right and duty to disobey. The right and duty. The duty to disobey when ordered to take an action in violation of common decency or law.
Once I was in an American airport and asked a group of soldiers who were waiting to fly somewhere if they had heard of the Nuremberg Principles. They had not. I asked them if they knew that it was their right and duty to disobey an unethical order. They all said that they had not been taught that. Sir, yes, sir!
Planners in the United States have been trained to follow rules and regulations that restrict the free use of private property. They see themselves as the gatekeepers of the environment and the rulebook, the General Plan, that dictates what is allowed in their municipality. I have spoken to hundreds of planners, some of whom say that they try to help property owners 'get around' the rules. This is not good enough.
There should be Nuremberg Principles for Planners. Laws that protect a planner's job if she or he refuses to enforce a rule, regulation, restriction, ordinance, statute, or law that violates private property rights. Planners who are 'just following orders' are on the frontlines of regulatory takings and radical fines and penalties. Indoctrinated and brainwashed by years of propaganda---Growing Smart: Legislative Guidebook with Model Statutes for Planning and the Management of Change---planners must free their minds and professional organizations from rules that are unethical and wrong. Government by unelected boards and commissions is unacceptable in the United States. Consultants' contracts should be immediately terminated. Non-governmental organizations have no place in government. Planners should be retrained to understand private property rights and their importance to a free nation.
Smart Growth, mixed use, high density urban development, and redevelopment projects are public private partnerships and reward cronies while creating the hardscape for the herd. Restrictive ditch setbacks, buffer zones, shoreline bands, viewsheds, and other regulatory takings selectively pick winners and losers and destroy lives.
If you are a planner, know that we will stand with you and come to your defense if you refuse to enforce unethical rules. Speak out and inform the Planning Commission and your Council or Board of Supervisors that you will no longer conspire to destroy private property rights.
Speak out. Stand up. STOP UN AGENDA 21.
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