Positive Action

Actions you can take:                           

 This post is mostly for U.S. citizens. It is about positive action a citizen can take.

                        If you are not an American citizen, this little post could still spark an interesting thought or two.

                        Go to a political party meeting. You can sit in on local party meetings and consider it a learning experience for you. Look and listen. Listen and learn. Check online or at your local post office or library for a time and place. 

                        Before you speak or even raise your hand at a meeting, Learn the party by-laws for that party. Sometimes state and national by-laws differ; even county by-laws differ. You could even reread a copy of Robert's Rules of Order. Then, with a very few friends you can politely and powerfully take control of a meeting or an entire local party. Party rules and by-laws can usually be found online. Read those rules and by laws and get to know. You don't want to embarrass yourself. If you do your reading you will probably know those rules and laws much better than most people in the room.

                        Start preparing to run for office next year. Yes, you. Run for School Board, City Council, County Treasurer, U.S. Senate, member of Congress, governor, Secretary of State, dogcatcher. Maybe dogcatcher is no longer an elective office in your county.

                        Run for office. All there is to it is to do it, still it is useful to do some learning or research, search along the way.

                        Make a tiny plan right now. Big actions are OK too.

                        "Rise up and do it." a good man has said. You could talk with a friend about it. However, it is often to begin taking steps for yourself first. Right now is good.

                         One year definitely run for precinct  delegate. Every precinct in America elects delegates from each party. You may be selected to attend a national party convention to nominate the presidential candidate. Consider it a learning experience. Nomination my be a bigger deal than voting.

                        Good for you. The action is good for your circulation.

                       Let us know what you are doing. A little doing is great. 

                                                                                                                rcs 

Start Your Life as an Active Citizen

 You can start or restart your life as an active citizen by taking one or more of the following actions. 

 

More may be better, but not necessary.

Consider:

~ making an opportunity to attend a couple of meetings of a civic organization.

~ learning a little more than just a little about your county government.

~ keeping politically humble, curious, and modest.

~ joining a political party. Its OK to change parties.

~ registering to vote in a primary election. It can be interesting to register as a party member.

~ learning about the nomination process for running for a public office.

~ getting a better understanding of an issue, policy, plank, or specific bill.

~ learning from a civic or political mistake.

~ contacting the office of a specific office holder and asking what his or her position is on an issue which interests you.

~ asking to help in a person's run for office.

~ calling the U.S. Capitol switchboard and telling them your zip code. They will transfer you to the office of your Representative.  

~ telling your your Representative's representative what is on your mind: ask your question or what it is you want of him.

~ writing to the office of your Senator. Check on line to see how to spell his name. Address your letter to him in care of the United states Senate, Washing to, DC 20515.

~ Writing to your Congressman/Representative by name at the U.S. House of Representatives, Washington DC 20515.

~ sitting quietly for a while and letting what you have learned work itself around in your mind. You may be beginning to cook a bit politically. 

~ that "political" and "politics" are not bad words. Check their extended meanings in a dictionary or online.

~ remembering that nobody and no one has to be politically active all the time.

~ finding a friend who seems to be politically active or civically interested. Talk with her or him about civics or issues and like that.

~ checking the kids civics lessons and remembering your humility and modesty.

~ attending meetings of your city council or your local school board. Its OK to just listen and watch.

~ keeping your sense of humor and having some fun as you remember that a civic organization can have powerful effects on the society in which you live.

These suggestions are directed to US citizens, but most of them may be adapted to your country.

Thanks for reading, citizen!

 

                                                                                                                        RCS 

Positive Actions: Big actions are okay

 Governance With RCS: Big Actions Are Good For Us

                This post is mostly for U.S. citizens. It is about positive actions a citizen may take.

                If you are not an American citizen, this post could spark an interesting thought or two. Or lead you to explore this blog.

                Go to a political party meeting. You can sit in on local party meetings and consider doing so as a learning experience for you. Look and listen. Listen. Check online, at your local Post Office, or Library for a meeting time and place.

                Before you speak or even raise your hand at a meeting, learn the county and state party party by-laws for that party. You could even read a copy of Robert's Rules of Order. Then with few friends you can politely and powerfully take control of a meeting or of an entire local party. Party rules and by-laws can be found online. Read those rules and by-laws and get to know them.

                Before you can complete all of the above you may be asked to join a party. Parties are usually easy to join and to unjoin.

                Start preparing to run for office next year. Yes you. Run for school board, city council, county treasurer, U.S. Senate, member of Congress, governor, Secretary of State, or dog catcher. Dog catcher may no longer be an elective office in your county.

                Run for office. All there is to it is to do it. Still it is good to do some learning along the way.

                Make a tiny plan right now.

                Rise up and do it. You could talk to a friend about it. It is often best to begin taking steps for yourself right now.

                One year, definitely do run for precinct delegate. Every precinct in America elects delegates from each party. You may be selected to attend a national party convention to nominate the presidential candidate. Consider it a learning experience. Nomination may be a bigger deal than voting.

                Thank you for reading.

                                                                    rcs 

Look at the Parties and Find Platforms

Governance With RCS: "A party|" sound to good to be true. Perhaps we can party enough to learn enough to change the nature of parties.

 Let's have a party:

                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 and we can find planks in platforms.

                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 platforms. An important to those platforms were its planks.  Each plank was likely to represent a specific want, interest need, etc.

                Right now I a 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 the 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 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.

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                First we form and find some great planks. With them we can make a great platform.  On that great platform can stand a great (new) party.  A party to be proud of.

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

                We can also promote our favorite planks directly to citizens with never having a party except like ones to celebrate our success, our birthdays, and our favorite holidays. 

                Thanks for reading.

                Comment to us about the content of this post, whenever you like.




                                                                                   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

  

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