As we have chronicled several times in recent months, various conspiracy-minded folks on the right have managed to convince themselves that US sovereignty is under threat from something known as the “North American Union,” a secret merger between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, despite the fact that, as Christopher Hayes recently explained in The Nation, there is no such thing.
To some people on the right, no amount of refutation or logic can shake their conviction that the US sovereignty is under attack from outside forces, which explains why we are now seeing things such as this:
A handful of locals recruited by Alamogordo resident Bill Biggerstaff spent time Saturday morning near the Tropical Sno concession in the Lowe’s Pay and Save parking lot discussing their opposition to the White Sands Monument being proposed for designation as a United Nations World Heritage Site.
They also asked shoppers and passersby to sign a petition to that effect.
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A sandwich board bearing a large United Nations logo with a red cross through the center caught the attention of motorists who either honked or stopped.
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Maude Rathgeber, who spearheaded the petition campaign through Eagle Forum, plans to present to signed petitions at the Otero County Commission meeting Aug. 16.
It comes as no surprise that the Eagle Forum is involved in this, as the organization has been at the forefront of raising the alarm about the North American Union and has a long history of opposing things like World Heritage designations, as well as everything from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women to the Law of the Sea Treaty – all under the guise that they will destroy American sovereignty.
In fact, Eagle Forum president Phyllis Schlafly is so intent on protecting US sovereignty against all enemies, real or imagined, that she even opposed US ratification of the Genocide Convention, calling it a “piece of propaganda and a constitutional embarrassment” as well as a “trap to ensnare American citizens and our allies.”
As for why it is so important to prevent the White Sands Monument from becoming a UN World Heritage Site, Biggerstaff explained it in a letter to the editor:
This may sound benign, and even a good or “prestigious” designation. However, the affects of being listed as a World Heritage Site could alter our lives here in Otero County [sic] the water component, for one thing and restrict or eliminate the military’s ability to test missiles or fly aircraft. Alamogordo is dependent on Holloman Air Force Base for survival. We need more answers.
Also, is this an admission by the National Park Service that it is unable to protect the resource of White Sands National Monument and needs the assistance of the United Nations to do so?
According to the UN, the purpose of the World Heritage designation is to “encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity,” but obviously Biggerstaff doesn’t see it that way:
“This is ultimately about protecting our sovereign nation that so many of our soldiers have fought and died for throughout our history,” Biggerstaff said. “We have a big problem with something that is American having a United Nations label on it. We don’t ever want to see that happen.”
If Biggerstaff really doesn’t ever want to see “something that is American having a United Nations label on it,” he is advised to avoid looking at the list of things that currently carry World Heritage designations, because it includes the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, and the Statue of Liberty.
