Let's Have a Party! What is Kennedy's Platform like?

Governance: values, planks, platforms, parties, people, a bit of politics

 

                Or, let's have a platform. Or, let's have a plank. "A party" sounds most attractive, but I have reason to consider a plank first.

                The kind of plank I am considering is political. is the name given to fundamental parts of a political platform. Political party platforms are made  up of planks. This kind of plank does not come from a tree, but rather from the minds of men and women.  We can shape one, or more.

                We have some ideas about the nature of a political party.  Historically each person running for political office  usually had a platform much like the platform of his party. So we know that a platform is what a person running for office stood on. I Great Britain, I believe, stood for office rather than running for office as one does in the US. A platform was once more about what party stood for rather than stood on. A party and it's platform may be much about wants, interests, needs, desires, values, and even philosophy of citizens, the men and women of the nation.

                So, parties had and have platforms. An important of those platforms were its planks.  Each plank was likely to represent a specific want, interest need, values of citizens

                Right now I am less interested in specific candidates, elections, or parties and am more interested in the specifics the platform they stand on. The specifics are best found in its planks.

                So, I am interested in platforms and the planks of those platforms, I am interested in specific planks and sets of planks one can stand on and for. I can direct my interests to the specifics of a chosen plank. I want a solid plank I can work on and see implemented in our nation.  I am interested in a plank I can be proud to stand up for. I am interested in a plank which represents real and specific values and interests in an understandable and attractive way.

                There is a lot  to learn and we can find some satisfaction in helping one another. I am pretty sure that a plank or a splinter of it may lead to the creation of a  Bill. That.s something

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First we form some great planks. Or find them in the 20 some party sites online. With them we can make a great platform.  On that great platform can stand a great (new) party.  A party to be proud of. We can learn a lot in the process.

Heaven forbid that other parties should copy a plank of ours. 

We could look through the planks we find online and pick out the ones we really like a lot.




by Richard Sheehan



 

A Little List (for the political)

Governance With RCS: Many in the U.S. are considering brand new political organizations on a wider than usual scale.

 

 

                They want organizations capable of working with large numbers of active citizens effectively. They are expecting wider participation in self governance. They want to do that which effectively furthers their aims right now.

We might analyze those aims into organizational aims and platform aims, but here here I will just offer a first draft of a "to do" list. It seems OK to call our organization political for now.

To Do Now:

* Restate clarified goals and aims.

* Arrange to have each member help in achieving those goals.

* Arrange to take care of all business promptly.

* Arrange for the ongoing education of all members.

* Make each member an educator.

* Keep in mind that teaching one another is important. Outside help is seldom as good as that which you do for yourselves.  

* Demonstrate abundant and appropriate trust for each member.

* The fewer secrets the better and "no secrets" is the best policy.

* Be inclusive. Help anyone who wants to be a member to be a member.

* Let each member know that he or she is in building and maintaining the organization, its philosophy, and its doings.

* Lay out clear steps for important and doable goals of your organization.

* One goal must not only be important and doable , but also a truly  attractive, challenging,  big deal. 

* Set out two or three goals to be worked on today. You want an organization where there are happenings right now.

* Every member needs a job they can do right now.

* Make clarifying the "grand vision" of your organization an ongoing activity. (Learning and teaching participatory, democratic, self-governance would be an attractive"grand vision" for me.

* Aim to govern yourselves by practicing self governance. Begin with teach-ins.

* A big enough vision for a brand new political organization might be "Govern ourselves and help others to govern themselves.

May you find that your consideration of my early hints lead you to thoughts of your own organizational plan and action. I wish you active citizenship.

Many in the U.S. are considering brand new political organizations on a wider than usual scale.

They want organizations capable of working with large numbers of active citizens effectively. They are expecting wider participation in self governance. They want to do that which effectively furthers their aims right now.

We might analyze those aims into organizational aims and platform aims, but here here I will just offer a first draft of a "to do" list. It seems OK to call our organization political for now.

To Do Now:

* Restate clarified (party) goals and aims.

* Arrange to have each member help in achieving those goals.

* Arrange to take care of all business promptly.

* Arrange for the ongoing education of all members.

* Make each member an educator.

* Keep in mind that teaching one another is important. Outside help is seldom as good as that which you do for yourselves.  

* Demonstrate abundant and appropriate trust for each member.

* The fewer secrets the better and "no secrets" is the best policy.

* Be inclusive. Help anyone who wants to be a member to be a member.

* Let each member know that he or she is in building and maintaining the organization, its philosophy, and its doings.

* Lay out clear steps for important and doable goals of your organization.

* One goal must not only be important and doable , but also a truly  attractive, challenging,  big deal. 

* Set out two or three goals to be worked on today. You want an organization where there are happenings right now.

* Every member needs a job they can do right now.

* Make clarifying the "grand vision" of your organization an ongoing activity. (Learning and teaching participatory, democratic, self-governance would be an attractive"grand vision" for me.

* Aim to govern yourselves by practicing self governance. Begin with teach-ins.

* A big enough vision for a brand new political organization might be "Govern ourselves and help others to govern themselves.

May you find that your consideration of my early hints lead you to thoughts of your own organizational plan and action. I wish you active citizenship.

by Richard Sheehan

 

Active Citizen Two: A brand new political organization

  A Brand New Political Organization.

Many in the U.S. are considering brand new political organizations for many reasons: a new national party, a coalition, an ad hoc effort to promote a special bill or effort, for social betterment, and on and on. They want organizations capable of working with large numbers of active citizens. They are expecting wider participation in self-governance. They want to do that which effectively furthers their aims right now.

There is much which needs to be done and many of us to do it. However, just now I will offer a list of hints which may prove helpful to an organizer. 

The hints:

~ Be inclusive. Help anyone who wants to be a member, be a member.

~ Keep in mind that teaching one another is important. Outside help can be useful, but that which we do for ourselves is more important. Each a learner, each a teacher.

~ Clarify aims and goals. Restate them often. Better them when you can.

~ Arrange to have each member have opportunities to help in achieving those goals. How will that be done?

~ Arrange to take care of all business promptly. How will it be done. Arrange for the ongoing education of all members. That's education in the skills and understandings necessary to the organization and organizational aims.

~ Make each member an educator. You do not have to use any of these hints; but anyone of them can be very useful.

~ Demonstrate abundant and appropriate trust in each member.

~ The fewer secrets the better and "no secrets" is the best policy.

~ Let each member know that he or she is participating in the creation and nourishing of the organization, its philosophy, and its doings.

~ Lay out clear steps for accomplishing the important doable goals of your organization. 

~ Remember you are not alone. You are part of an organization. laying out, demonstrating, making, and doing are group affairs and  doings. Members want to be active. Let them be active. 

~ It is best that a goal members undertake not only be important and doable, but also ought to be attractive, challenging, and a big deal.

~ Set out a goal or two to be completed today. That is you as in you all set out a goal. You all want your organization to be where the "doings" are.

~ Each member deserves a worthy job he or she can work right now. What a power house an organization can be! Your organization is a big powerful group.

~ Make clarifying the "grand vision" of your organization an ongoing activity. A grand vision for me might be the ongoing practice of active self-governance. or the ongoing practice of participatory democracy.

~ Ends, goals, objectives, aims can all be good. However, to be well done is important and the way it is done can be the most important.  

~ Aim to govern yourselves by practicing active self-governance of the whole. Begin with "how to do" teach-ins.

May these hints/suggestions help you in your action plans.

We have a lot to learn and a lot to do. Its that there are a lot of us to help with that learning and doing. 

As That Active Citizen

As a participant in a meeting it is fair and useful to:

~ Show up.

~ Speak up.

~ Name the problem.

~ Team up.

~ Find a partner.

~ Frame the discussion.

That is: be there; address the group; Clarify the topic; Identify those of like mind; make a friend; listen and learn; sum up what the meeting has been about.

It all starts with showing up and being there.

RCS

  

Why Can't a Third Partty Take Off?

A third party may be best at popularizing new planks and new platforms.
Third party members do gain office. However, their most important function may be to educate voters.
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There Are Still Some Real democrats

Governance With RCS: There Are Still Some Real democrats: Why the little "d" in democrats?

                In the distant past there were democrats. In the recent past there were some democrats. And, there are still some democrats. A democrat might be thought of as one who believes in our ability to learn and to do. I know little about what those who call themselves democrats are doing now. I do have a sharp memory for much of that which democrats have done in the past.

                I hope you understand that I am not using the word “democrat” to refer to a member of a political party, but rather to one who holds a certain philosophical position. A Democrat can be a democrat, but she doesn’t have to.

                Democrats have tended to promote certain doings. Those doings have tended to be definitive of their beliefs.

Democrats have promoted:

~ improved communications within political organizations and among them.

~ enhancement and protection of democracy among us.

~ the study of legislation affecting democracy.

~ vigorous ongoing education about the use and doing of democracy.

~ development of widespread leadership rather than super-leaders.

~ enhanced education for participation in government.

~ cooperative self-governance.

~ willingness to thoughtfully and promptly change a bad law for the better.

~ strong respect for the law.

~exclusivity and diversity in public life.

~ cooperation within and among groups.

~ knowledge of the history of democracy, including its limitations and advantages.

~ respect for the varieties of democracy around the world.

~ our Constitution at its Bill or Rights.

~ loving care for each and every child.

~ respect and honor for the individual, the family, and the neighborhood.

~ more nearly equal opportunity for access to healthcare for each person.

~ strong support and oversight for our public health systems.

~respect and support for the position of minorities.

~ the practice of better dialogue.

~ wide, ongoing educational opportunities for all.

~ honesty.

This list can be greatly improved. However, there is already enough here to suggests planks for the platform of a present political party or candidate, or, a new party and candidates.

 

 

by Richard Sheehan