{"id":246,"date":"2012-04-29T15:11:28","date_gmt":"2012-04-29T19:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/?p=246"},"modified":"2012-05-07T14:54:53","modified_gmt":"2012-05-07T18:54:53","slug":"wrongs-done-in-the-darkness-of-ignorance-and-unbelief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/?p=246","title":{"rendered":"Wrongs done in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 29, 2012
\nBy Scott Olson<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe wrongs done to trees, wrongs of every sort, are done in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief, for when the light comes, the heart of the people is always right.\u201d –John Muir<\/em><\/h4>\n

This past year has seemed hellish for many of us involved with the protection of the precious natural resources of the New Jersey Highlands. Until now, the anti-Highlands zealots had inflicted some cuts \u2013 mostly flesh wounds. But once there was blood in the water, the crazies were whipped into a frenzy that \u2013 with minimal resistance from conservationists \u2013 has shifted the balance of power in the region for the worse.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve gone from a Highlands Council chaired by a cognitive thinking, environmentally and politically savvy<\/strong> member of academia, to a Council chaired by an intransigent reactionary who is a manager and wine & spirits buyer for a chain of liquor stores.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve gone from a Highlands Council staff managed by a recognized leader in land preservation<\/strong>, experienced as a state employee in smart growth and land use planning, to a Council now managed by a food-service equipment and distribution consultant.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve gone from a reasonably-balanced Council of members with differing opinions and ideologies who were able to reach compromise<\/strong> to create a workable Regional Master Plan (RMP), to a Council which now seems more polarized and dysfunctional than ever, and is dominated by a majority of business-friendly puppets of the Governor who are not only eager to gut the RMP, but the Highlands Act itself.<\/p>\n

Oh, and let\u2019s not forget this important fact. Should Governor Christie gets his way, and appoint someone like Sam Race to replace Tracy Carluccio on the Council, the dais will be populated by all middle-aged (and older) white men. Diversity? What diversity? Who needs experience, compromise and diversity when your ultimate goal is to muddy the waters of the process, and channel profits to your friends or their businesses, or enable patronage for political allies? The good old boys club has the monopoly on that market!<\/p>\n

So just who is to blame?<\/strong> Governor Christie and his pro-business, anti-environment agenda? Governor Corzine for not filling expiring appointments during the last years of his term? Legislators from both sides of the aisle for promoting and confirming unqualified candidates put up by the Governor?\u00a0 Or ourselves, for becoming too complacent after the Act was passed and the RMP enacted, with municipalities lining up in droves for conformance?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The answer? All of the above.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fixing the blame is not the problem, however. Fixing the problem is the problem, and it must start right now \u2013 at the grassroots level in your own municipality.<\/p>\n

It is important to strengthen our resolve and increase our efforts at the local level because we\u2019ve seen the anti-Highlands puppets and bullies being emboldened by these changes and begin attacks in municipal meetings across the region. If we keeps the \u2018roots\u2019 of Highlands support alive locally, it will be increasing tougher for the Christie administration and the Highlands Council to negate the nearly two-decades of hard work that has gotten us to where we are today.<\/p>\n

Take a quick look at what is happening already in the region: Rejection of RMP conformance<\/a> by the new members of Pohatcong Township Council despite strong local support for opt-in. Loud opposition by a vocal minority<\/a> against conformance in Tewksbury Township failed to sway the Committee<\/a> there. And just two weeks ago in Byram \u2013 a leader in the municipal conformance process<\/a> \u2013 I became the target of a personal attack<\/a> by two anti-Highlands members of my Council as they attempted to force my recusal and negate the majority on the governing body to block introduction of a routine Highlands checklist ordinance. (You can listen to the outlandish accusation and outbursts on a 15-minute mp3 by clicking here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

The transgression that caused my colleagues to deem me immoral and unethical? Receiving a $5000 grant from the New Jersey Highlands Coalition to compile a six-day-per-week email clipping service\/ newsletter<\/a> of Highlands and Highlands-related news stories \u2013 read by approximately 320 subscribers who are: members of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition; the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commission (ANJEC); federal, state and local elected and appointed officials (including Highlands Council members and staff); engineers and planning professionals; reporters and media outlets; and individuals associated with other grassroots organizations throughout the Highlands and north Jersey.<\/p>\n

And what, you ask, is the purpose of the alleged \u201cpropaganda\u201d I\u2019m spreading, and my reason for doing so? The project is designed to meet the grant criteria by providing an electronic outlet for distribution of news and information that educates the public about Highlands water and resources, and\/or increase public awareness of Highlands water and resources. Educate the public. Scandalous!<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Byram\u2019s municipal attorney quickly saw right through the charade, and declared the allegation of \u2018conflict of interest\u2019 by my colleagues to be baseless and unfounded. There is no legal reason for me to be forced to step down from discussion, or vote on the ordinance. A small victory.<\/p>\n

There’s a concerted effort being made by the puppets and bullies all across the country to dumb down the public, and it’s working. Lies, repeated over and over soon become believable. We need to take up the fight again locally and re-educate the public to the importance of good regional planning, of maintaining the precious natural and cultural resources of the Highlands.<\/p>\n

The attack by my colleagues had absolutely nothing to do with my receiving compensation for the communications work I do. It was based solely in the anti-Highlands ideology of the minority \u2013 an ideology that places greed and profit ahead of the health and well-being of the residents of the region.<\/p>\n

The real \u2018character flaw\u2019 of mine that they are attacking is the fact that I’ve been an advocate of sound regional planning, and worked in support of Highlands protections for over a decade – long before I was elected to Byram\u2019s Township Council in 2007. Since being elected, my record of integrity and service speaks for itself. Apparently my two colleagues don’t like that, and don’t have a substantive argument against Byram’s Highlands conformance process, so they resort to personal attacks on my character. It’s sad, but it seems that this is what comes with public service today. As distasteful as it is to all of us, I choose to put up with it because I chose to serve my community. And because sound regional planning and protection of Highlands resources are that important.<\/p>\n

Too often in the past year, I\u2019ve heard or read references to \u201ca dark day for the Highlands,\u201d or a \u201cdeath knell for the Highlands.\u201d Signals of surrender or negative attitudes that can quickly become self-fulfilling if not kept in check. To some of you, it may seem that we are slipping uncontrollably into the \u201cdarkness of ignorance and unbelief.\u201d Sorry, but I\u2019m just not buying into that argument. It\u2019s not going to happen on our watch, not if we have any say in the matter. But we have to act with speed and vigor to counter the outlandish claims and false outrage of the \u2018puppet and bully\u2019 minority.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start by shining some light on the heart of this matter. For one thing, it is very important to never forget this: On June 10, 2004, the New Jersey Legislature voted overwhelmingly<\/em> \u2013 34-2 in the Senate and 69-10 in the Assembly \u2013 to approve the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act. Overwhelmingly. As in 103-12 overwhelmingly<\/strong>. The Act was signed into law by then-Governor McGreevey on August 10, 2004, and something so many had worked so hard for \u2013 protection of some of New Jersey\u2019s finest and most sensitive natural resources \u2013 was achieved. Or so we thought. And perhaps THAT is where our mistake began. Complacency set in, and we began to lose ground in the court of public opinion.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to get back on message, and to do so loudly and regularly. It\u2019s time to chase away the darkness of ignorance and unbelief with the light of the truth. The light of rational debate. The light of grassroots organizing and community involvement.<\/p>\n

The light still shines. The people are still right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 29, 2012 By Scott Olson<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wrongs done to trees, wrongs of every sort, are done in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief, for when the light comes, the heart of the people is always right.\u201d –John Muir <\/p>\n

This past year has seemed hellish for many of us involved with the protection of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[26,5,22,4,24],"tags":[44,27,350,60,39,14,106,357],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2nL7w-3Y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=246"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254,"href":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions\/254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.northbyram.org\/highlands\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}