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Submitted by Starwing on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 12:18am.
MANIFESTO OF THE POOR PEOPLE'S UNION 31 MARCH 2007 Re-printed with postscript by James Staples, and post-postscript by Toren Wilder-Valimir Classism is a reality; it is not an idea or theory. It is a day-to-day reality where some suffer so others can profit. This system is not permanent. It can be undone, but for this to happen, class itself must be undone. We believe in a world where rights are not given or taken away, but simply exist due to the fact that we are human beings. We believe in a world where the right to live free of fear goes unquestioned, where we can be certain of all parts of this world; where all parts of the environment, all species of animal and all human beings have the space to coexist. That world will never come if things are allowed to continue as they are. We are here to organize, for we are part of the social organism. If one part is sick, then the whole suffers. We will obtain our rights, not by having them handed down from some kind of superior, but by creating them in the here-and-now. This is our mission and it is guided by these points: 1) We deserve Freedom: Freedom from fear, hunger, cold, helplessness and the sickness that comes from living in a place where there are those who suffer. 2) We Deserve Opportunity: The opportunity to work, to participate, to prosper and to create, control and guide our own destiny. 3) We deserve Shelter: To be out of the elements and to have the privacy so necessary for personal and spiritual growth. 4) We deserve Safety: From the police, from those who hate and fear poverty, from sexual violence and from any form of bigotry, whether based on class, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, or any other label. 5) We deserve Justice: In courts, in jails and prisons, and from the representatives of this city, this county, this state and this country. 6) We deserve Happiness and the means to it. We should have the opportunity to solve our problems, have the means to let them stay solved and move on with our lives in a way that is healthy, fulfilling and complete. We will accept nothing less. We are the Poor People's Union, a union made up of people whose lives or consciousnesses have been touched in some way by poverty. We are made strong by the belief that equality is a reality, and if we as a society want it, then we cannot ask for it, but instead must make it for ourselves. _______________________________________ POSTSCRIPT by James Staples The Manifesto of the Poor People's Union reminds me of another humanitarian document. It dates from 1789 and is known as the U.S. Constitution. It seems the ones who shout the loudest about who is a good American, and who is not, have forgotten the document that MAKES us Americans: "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect UNION, establish JUSTICE, insure domestic TRANQUILITY, provide for the COMMON DEFENSE, promote the GENERAL WELFARE and secure the blessings of LIBERTY to OURSELVES and OUR POSTERITY do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America." These things: Union, Justice, Tranquility, Defense, Welfare and Liberty are supposed to be guaranteed to all Americans, forever. They are your rights according to the highest law in the land. To everyone who reads this: Remember also that the Declaration of Independence says: When your government becomes destructive of your rights, it is both your RIGHT and your DUTY - as a patriotic American - to... ... A B O L I S H ... T H E ... G O V E R N M E N T ... ...And replace it with something that is more conducive to your rights and freedoms. That is not sedition. That is not treason. THAT IS UNITED STATES LAW!! Gods bless America! _______________________________________ POST-POSTSCRIPT by Toren Wilder-Valimir I have had at least one male ancestor or relative in every war this great Nation has ever had, from the Revolution to the current "War On Terror" (which I'm certain history will remember as "World War Three"). From the time I was a child, I can recall my father (a WW2 vet) saying that this country was going to "hell in a handbasket", and certainly was NOT the country he fought for in World War Two. When the time came, my ancestors put down their ploughs, picked up their musketts, and went off to fight the forces of tyranny and oppression. Unfortunately, those forces have infiltrated the government of the very Nation my ancestors helped establish and defend. We cannot simply take up arms and overthrow the government in this day and age. Another Civil War is not beneficial to our survival as a country, nor is it conducive to a better life for the People. It's the People of this Country that make it a great one. The People have the power. Anyone who says differently is lying to you. Thomas Jefferson had said that "a little revolution every twenty years a good and necessary thing". Many people see voting as that revolution. Alas, it is not... at least it's not the revolution it *should* be. Look at the media's coverage of the 2008 Presidential race. You will hear stories of which candidate raised the most money, and how that will increase their chances of being elected. This is NOT a country to be governed by the rich and privileged. It's a country to be governed by the People, regardless of financial status. It is a country in which we all --rich and poor, black and white (and all other ethnicities), gay and straight-- we ALL have the power to lead this nation. The People lead this nation by voting. Don't just think of the national elections. The Federal Government exists ONLY because the States give it the right to exist. States exist ONLY because the cities and townships have delegated it to exist. If you want to change the Nation, you need to think and act locally first. I encourage everyone to vote in local elections. Vote not along party lines, nor under a banner of "Liberal" or "Conservative", nor should you vote for the candidate who you feel who represents your interests. Vote for the candidate who goes amongst the People, listens to them and then will take action on their behalf. It's been too long since any government official actually listened to those who put them in power. It's time for a change. It's time for a new kind of revolution. It's time for YOU to get off your ass, and exercise your Constitutionally protected rights, and vote in your local elections. It's the only way to change things. I'm Toren Wilder-Valimir, and I approved this message. -=[ Toren for Olympia City Council ]=-
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What is printed here is the
Submitted by Rob Richards on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 7:23am.You deserve a lot of
Submitted by Ehver Green on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 9:41am.Contributions to what?
Submitted by Rob Richards on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 11:18am.I've said all along that we aren't demanding anything except the right to exist someplace safe and secure. If you re-read our preamble we're not asking for material goods. We're not demanding anything at all. We live within a system which requires that some are unemployed, some are houseless, and that most live in varying degrees of poverty (whether of the mind, body, spirit, or pocketbook) while some are rich. If you and everyone else are willing to accept that system then you have to provide those people that are houseless a place to exist. With the camp, all we're asking for is a place to be. We'll do the rest, or we'll accept help from those who choose to help. You don't have to do or give anything.
Now if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice . . . in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I submit: let it be done."
I was actually with you on
Submitted by Ehver Green on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 8:08pm.I was actually with you on this, Rob. I meant it when I said you deserve a lot of things. I don't think it reads as a two-way street, that's all.
It's hard to say what we
Submitted by Rob Richards on Sat, 04/07/2007 - 8:52pm.Now if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice . . . in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I submit: let it be done."
where does power come from?
Submitted by chad360 on Mon, 04/09/2007 - 9:51am.Read the Constitution
Submitted by Starwing on Mon, 04/09/2007 - 12:34pm.Ratification? huh?
Submitted by chad360 on Tue, 04/10/2007 - 9:09am.I'm just trippn cuz in Urban Studies they stressed that the powers derive from the Fed down, and I'd like to get a better understanding of what you are talking about--
All powers not specifically
Submitted by Mike on Tue, 04/10/2007 - 4:50pm.States rights have been severely undercut by explosion of "federal rights" granted through expansion of the commerce clause that specifically grants to the fed govt the right to oversee commerce.
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." President Dwight D. Eisenhower April 16, 1953