Citizenship and Governance: 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 for civic organization:
~ 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 orgainzation 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 great that there are a lot of us to help with that learning and doing.
As That Active Citizen and 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.
Thank you for reading.
RCS