To create a just, equitable and sustainable society, we believe we must.
Create social support to strengthen families.
The family is the basic building block of our society. Loving, healthy families need real help and not more empty rhetoric. Public policies must function to bring and keep families together and not tear them apart.
Foster a spirit of shared responsibility and community.
All of us are in this together. Divisive politics and entrenched social divisions have torn us apart. Intolerance and social injustice destroy community. Honoring our diversity builds community. We all have a responsibility to make our communities and our country work.
Bring all voices into the public dialogue.
Access to media should not be the domain of the few. Electoral politics should not be the playground for the rich. Government officials should be representative of our entire society. Public decision-making should be transparent.
Protect our right to privacy and our freedom of choice.
We have the right to create our own lives and determine what we do with our bodies. We have a constitutional right to organize. We have the right to keep private what we say, what we read, what we watch, and how we think.
Make real opportunities available to all.
Without realistic access to free quality education, meaningful work, affordable housing and higher education, there is no opp ortunity. This country must embark on a nationwide effort to build sustainable wealth in underrepresented communities. We must value the entrepreneurial spirit by helping small businesses and farms.
Use government to invest in the public good.
Government must do what market forces will not. Government must keep our society stable by preserving natural resources, maintaining our countrys infrastructure and investing in human resources.
Be a respected and respectful citizen of the world.
We can only keep our country safe through the cooperation of the world community. Our foreign policy must reflect an understanding of and respect for other cultures.
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How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office: an Anti-Politics, Un-Boring Guide to Power By The LEAGUE
-Responding to the curresnt political stupidity (perpetrated by Stupid White Men of all races, genders, and IQ scores), 12 ingenious young political artists and organizers have created a book that shows how young people who don't do electoral politics can play the game - on our own terms. (from back cover)
Grassroots and Nonprofit Leadership: A Guide for Organizations in Changing Times by Lakey, et. al
- Weaves together theory, experience, and context to help leaders deal creatively and concretely with the full range of organizational issues. A practical toolkit, it also clarifies the nature of power and leadership, the stages of social movements, and the social environment in which change organizations exists. (from back cover)
Stir It Up: Lessons in Community Organizing and Advocacy by Rinku Sen
-If social change organizations- local, regional, and national- are to succeed, they must go beyond traditional grassroots organizing efforts and develop systematic, comprehensive organizing practices that will change public policy and practice...Stir It Up identifies the key priorities and strategies that can help advance the mission of any social change group. (from back cover)
Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership by Bolman and Deal
-The core of this book is reframing, a tool for finding new opportunities and options in confusing and troubling organizational situations. The authors show how multiple frames (structural, human, political, symbolic) give leaders an edge in decoding organizational complexity. (from back cover)