The conspiracy theorists tell me they're watching me

      Recently, I was copied on an email sent out by those who suspect everyone of tyranny rallying the true believers to come out to the commissioner's meeting that week to "pack the room" and ''let the commissioners know we're watching them."
      The source of this angst was a report from a committee on sustainability, which, it seems, is some kind of code for a takeover by the United Nations.
     "Sustainability" it seems, is just one buzzword that the defenders of true liberty want everyone to see as a bad thing.  If you do not learn the vocabulary words, you are in danger of being "enslaved by the globalists". If you do not react negatively to terms like "social justice," or "environmental responsibility," you are at best a socialist sympathizer, and at worst, an enabler of an international cabal that will overturn the United States Constitution and destroy your liberties.
     I was just a child during the McCarthy era, but I learned even then that the real enemy of my family's way of life was the absolutist zealot who first changed the definition of words to instill fear, feed ignorance, and exploit divisiveness for the purpose of abusing power.
     Twist the truth, scare people, stir up controversy, and then proclaim yourself or your cult leader as the savior of the nation.
     The tactic is not new. It has been a tool for building empires and has led to wars and terrorism. It counts on people getting only part of the story, or a certain twisted interpretation of the story, and not the whole truth. One weapon they use is the claim that they, alone, know the truth and they are here to share it with those who will join them. And if you don't join them, well, then they will be watching YOU.
     The Scare of the Moment is something called Agenda 21, and it's right at the top of a long list of out-there postings that can be found on Google. If you fall for the absolutists' line, then you should mistrust any attempt at cleaning up the planet, working collaboratively with anyone who is not a True American. Put up walls, put 'gators in the moat around America, get your gun and defend us against the rest of the world, or those within our Fortress America who would engage in dialog with other nations or cultures on issues that might affect all of us.
     This was the kind of rhetoric that led to the enclaves of "patriots" who blew up the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City.
     This is a big, diverse (another bad word) collection of cultures in America, and I feel safe with the majority of my fellow citizens. You'll have to forgive me if I object to attempts at intimidation from people who call themselves patriots right here in the nation that allows them -- and me -- to have differences of opinion on how to keep the best of what we have and participate as a free American in the continued prosperity and health of my community and my country.
     That effort is worth sustaining.