GREEN DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
July 4, 2001
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for a
people ennobled by the promise of freedom to transcend the political
bonds forged by long-standing loyalties and start anew, a decent
respect for the opinions of humankind requires that they should
declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
And so, 225 years after the founding of this nation conceived in
liberty, the Green Party still holds these truths to be self-evident:
that all individuals are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable rights: that among these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these
rights, all governing institutions, including those governing
economic life, derive their just power from the consent of the
governed; that when those institutions become destructive of these
ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish them.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that institutions long established
will not be changed for light and transient causes, and accordingly
all experience has shown that people are more disposed to suffer
while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing
the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing inevitably
the object of despoiling the natural world on behalf of a soulless
materialism, evinces a design to reduce us under absolute despotism,
it is our right, it is our duty, to throw off such tyranny, and to
provide new alternatives for our future security. The history of the
present economic system of competition, exploitation and injustice is
a history of repeated violence, all having in direct object the
erosion of community and the destruction of the Earth, which gives us
life.
What then, are we to believe of that venerable institution known as
the Democratic/Farmer/Labor Party, which presumes to provide redress
for these grievances? Surely the title itself must rightly be
considered a cynical misnomer, as the fortunes of democracy, farmers,
and laborers have withered even within its strongholds. Still less
can the Republican Party lay claim to representing the desires of
those who seek a society based on ecological wisdom or social and
economic justice. Founded on the principle of universal emancipation
from slavery, the party that once stood for liberty now shackles the
poor and the dispossessed with corporate control and oppression.
So must the Green Party declare its independence from the traditional
political structures that subvert the foundation of our nation. We
call for a renewed spirit of democracy, grounded in ecological and
egalitarian values and a recognition of the inseparable link between
individual welfare and the vitality of the whole. As evidence of the
need for such renewal, we offer these facts to a candid world:
� Democracy, "the rule of the people", has given way to the rule of
bureaucrats, and the agendas of powerful interest groups shrouded in
mystery and deceit.
� Farmers have become expendable pawns in the game of global
corporate agriculture and direct genetic tampering with the code of
all life on Earth.
� Labor has witnessed a steep decline in the minimum wage relative
to the cost of living over the course of the last three decades, and
the public has been increasingly forced to assume the costs of
poverty, thereby subsidizing the rich.
� Rather than challenging the structural and philosophical
assumptions that tie economic prosperity to an irrational growth
imperative that inevitably results in environmental and cultural
destruction, the DFL Party takes pride in its collaboration with
Republicans and the ongoing lunacy of the project known as "the
economy".
� From top to bottom, the primary goal of the two-party system is
to cling to political power at almost any cost, in order to deny
power to any opposition. The result is lowest-common-denominator
rhetoric and stupefying ideological conformity.
Therefore, as members and candidates of the Green Party of Minnesota,
we solemnly publish and declare our independence from the two-party
system and the corporate republic for which it stands. And for the
support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the power of the
people, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred
honor.
[written by Lowell Nelson and others]
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The 10 Key Values of the U.S. Green Movement
GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
We will work to increase public participation at every level of
government through public campaign financing, proportional
representation and other election reforms, to ensure that our public
representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally
from the resources afforded us by society and the environment. We
must consciously confront in ourselves, and in society at large,
barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia,
ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal
justice under the law.
ECOLOGICAL WISDOM
Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part
of nature, not separate from nature.
We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological
and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a
sustainable society which utilizes resources in such a way that
future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of
our generation.
NONVIOLENCE
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society's
current patterns of violence. We will work to end institutional
violence including war, the production of weapons of mass
destruction, police brutality, the death penalty, hate crimes and
poverty.
DECENTRALIZATION
Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic
injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization. We support
a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away
from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits a powerful
few. Decision-making should, as much as possible, take place at the
individual and local level, while assuring that the environment and
civil rights are protected for all.
COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMICS
We recognize it is essential to create a sustainable economic system
that can create jobs and provide a decent standard of living for all
people while maintaining a healthy ecological balance.
We support local economic development that assures protection of the
environment and workers' rights. We support community-based
businesses which are socially responsible, as well as cooperatives
and public enterprises that distribute resources and control through
democratic participation.
FEMINISM AND GENDER EQUITY
We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and
control with more cooperative ways of interacting that respect
differences of opinion and gender. Values such as equity between the
sexes and interpersonal responsibility must be developed with moral
conscience.
RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
We believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual,
religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of
respectful relationships across these lines.
We acknowledge and encourage respect for other life forms than our
own and the preservation of biodiversity.
PERSONAL AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
We encourage all people to work to fulfill their individual
potential, and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and
social harmony. We seek to join with people and organizations around
the world to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the
planet.
FUTURE FOCUS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals. We
seek to protect valuable natural resources, while developing a
sustainable economy that does not depend on continual expansion for
survival. We need to assure that economic development, new
technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future
generations who will inherit the results of our actions.
__________________________________________________
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