Yesterday, we couldn't help poking fun at Glenn Beck's red alert about the words he associates with an imaginary UN plot to take away our cars and our freedoms. But it gets better: Everyone's favorite conspiracy-monger is touting his newest project -- a "city-theme park hybrid" called Independence, USA that in some ways bears a shocking resemblance to the urbanism he sneers at, and in other ways seems far more coercive than the planning ideas he wants people to fear.
Wouldn't you know it, this $2 billion master-planned community will be modeled after the walkable streets of Disneyland, without Disneyland's fatal flaw, according to Beck -- being overly "commercialized."
Look at the video and read about what he has planned, and see if you don't think it sounds just a little bit, I don't know, collectivist. And please excuse the (many) typos; we didn't change a thing from the original treatise:
The Marketplace would be a place where craftmen and artisan could open and run real small businesses and stores. The owners and tradesmen could hold apprenticeships and teach young people the skills and entrepreneurial spirit that has been lost in today’s entitlement state.
There would also be an Media Center, where Glenn’s production company would film television, movies, documentaries, and more. Glenn hoped to include scripted television that would challenge viewers without resorting to a loss of human decency. He also said it would be a place where aspiring journalists would learn how to be great reporters.
Across the lake, there would be a church modelled after The Alamo which would act as a multi-denominational mission center. The town will also have a working ranch where visitors can learn how to farm and work the land.
Independence would also be home to a Research and Development center where people would come to learn, innovate, educate, and create. There would be a theme park for people to recharge and have fun with their families.
People would also have the option to live in Independence, with a residential area where people of different incomes could all come together and be neighbors.
There you have it. America's loudest critic of planning has come forward with a master-planned city of his own design.
So, you may have thought that eliminating mandatory parking minimums and single-use zoning was a threat to your rights. But this is totally how they get you. They make you think Glenn Beck is on the side of freedom, and then POW! We'll all get enslaved in "Independence."
