As we celebrate Independence Day, let's reflect on what makes us UNITED in a meaningful way in these divided times.
This is the Coffee Party vision for uniting America.
Reason and civility in public affairs; A government of public servants accountable to the People; A People committed to the Common Good & Civic Virtue.
This vision may seem too idealistic to some. Too difficult. Naive. Impossible. To us, that's tantamount to saying let's give up on America. And to give up on America is to give up on the most important experiment in modern history: Democracy.
Most of us are aware of the ways in which lobbyists and special interest are corrupting Congress. We often talk about how our politicians are failing us. Or the media. Or the lack of transparency and accountability in government. All these concerns are valid and reform in these areas are critical to improving our democracy. We intend to work hard to address these concerns.
However, we also believe that in an important way we are failing ourselves and our democracy.
Our participation level during elections and in the ongoing democratic process is so low -- especially at the local and state levels -- that our governments become more vulnerable to the influence of organized extremists and big-pocketed special interest.
The extremists and special interest skew the wants and needs of the majority of Americans. In short, they thwart the will of the People.
It's time for the common sense of the majority of Americans to be at the center of our politics.
For the upcoming election, the Coffee Party goal is to increase participation across the board and call on all Americans to participate. We need the majority to make the kind of systemic changes we need to make in our political process.
To get money out of politics, we can't do it as a few individual advocates or even a coalition of many good organizations. We need the will of the People, the majority of Americans.
In general, the Coffee Party mission is to create an informed and involved citizenry. We aspire to create a community of people who care about facts, solutions, the sanctity of our democracy and one another. We continue to cultivate our values -- civility, respect, personal responsibility and compassion -- and integrate them into our actions, the Coffee Party methodology for social change.
I hope that you join us by committing to this project. It's hard work and it will be a long journey. We cannot make these cultural and institutional changes overnight.
The journey begins now.
See you at a local Coffee Party meeting and our National Convention in Louisville, KY September 24-26
Please sign our Civility Pledge.
To organize a local event, check out Local Organizers' Toolkit.
Check out our Democracy Toolkit.
FAQ: Coffee Party Goals, Mission Going Forward
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Comments
the things that unite us . . .
Today on Sirius Radio Channel 110, a station covering politics in general, they were playing many speeches given by past presidents of the United States--from all parties. I was struck by the following excerpt from Ronald Reagan's speech on July 4th, 1986:
"All through our history, our Presidents and leaders have spoken of national unity and warned us that the real obstacle to moving forward the boundaries of freedom, the only permanent danger to the hope that is America, comes from within. It's easy enough to dismiss this as a kind of familiar exhortation. Yet the truth is that even two of our greatest Founding Fathers, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, once learned this lesson late in life. They'd worked so closely together in Philadelphia for independence. But once that was gained and a government was formed, something called partisan politics began to get in the way. After a bitter and divisive campaign, Jefferson defeated Adams for the Presidency in 1800. And the night before Jefferson's inauguration, Adams slipped away to Boston, disappointed, brokenhearted, and bitter.
For years their estrangement lasted. But then when both had retired, Jefferson at 68 to Monticello and Adams at 76 to Quincy, they began through their letters to speak again to each other. Letters that discussed almost every conceivable subject: gardening, horseback riding, even sneezing as a cure for hiccups; but other subjects as well: the loss of loved ones, the mystery of grief and sorrow, the importance of religion, and of course the last thoughts, the final hopes of two old men, two great patriarchs, for the country that they had helped to found and loved so deeply. ``It carries me back,'' Jefferson wrote about correspondence with his cosigner of the Declaration of Independence, ``to the times when, beset with difficulties and dangers, we were fellow laborers in the same cause, struggling for what is most valuable to man, his right to self-government. Laboring always at the same oar, with some wave ever ahead threatening to overwhelm us and yet passing harmless . . . we rowed through the storm with heart and hand . . . .'' It was their last gift to us, this lesson in brotherhood, in tolerance for each other, this insight into America's strength as a nation. And when both died on the same day within hours of each other, that date was July 4th, 50 years exactly after that first gift to us, the Declaration of Independence.
My fellow Americans, it falls to us to keep faith with them and all the great Americans of our past. Believe me, if there's one impression I carry with me after the privilege of holding for five and a half years the office held by Adams and Jefferson and Lincoln, it is this: that the things that unite us -- America's past of which we're so proud, our hopes and aspirations for the future of the world and this much-loved country -- these things far outweigh what little divides us. And so tonight we reaffirm that Jew and gentile, we are one nation under God; that black and white, we are one nation indivisible; that Republican and Democrat, we are all Americans. Tonight, with heart and hand, through whatever trial and travail, we pledge ourselves to each other and to the cause of human freedom, the cause that has given light to this land and hope to the world."
Government's role
If we can agree that government’s principle role is to protect our individual unalienable rights, it then stand to reason we need to look at how government’s position on social issues impact individuals as opposed to looking at how government's position on social issues impact society. If we focus on how social issues affect us individually, perhaps we will find it easier to identify with, or understand, opposing views and allow us to discover unifying solutions to complex and polarizing issues.
http://simply-political.blogspot.com/
Responsibility+Community+Action = Citizen Empowerment
I too feel a new hope for revitalizing our democracy. The CPM methodology can work and I offer this simple formula. My faith, that our government should work for the common good as the Founders intended, is based on citizens accepting responsibility for achieving this outcome and by joining with others in this community. By using the principles of civility and respect we can take positive action to produce better outcomes for our country. This formula for citizen empowerment does take hard work but it's a shared burden by the whole community - If done right it feels less like an obligation and more like a privilege ...to know, create and work with each other.
This is the day when we celebrate our democracy and reaffirm our 'Faith in Our Fore-Fathers'
I also hope we will celebrate by acknowledging faith in ourselves and the role we play in preserving their Vision.
Thanks!
Phil and Peg, thank you so much for your contributions to the Coffee Party! These are great ideas that you both articulated here.
We can feel the impact of your spirit and efforts from the Bay Area all the way across the country in Washington DC.
A new hope
The fact that there are so many coming together to re-invigorate our democracy has given me a kind of hope I haven't felt many times in my life. I like taking responsibility for my role as a citizen--feeling powerful, knowing I am not alone, and that this mission is a shared one. This community--in-person or virtual--is connecting me to those I thought were out there, but whose existence I had to doubt, as I couldn't seem to find them. I am grateful for you all, and for the chance to celebrate--today--the ideas that make this possible.