TEN KEY VALUES OF THE GREEN PARTY
1. GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another. Therefore, we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We will also work to create new types of political organizations which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.
2. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITYAll 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, our organizations, and 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.
3. 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. To this end we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.
4. NON-VIOLENCE
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments. We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in helpless situations. We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.
5. DECENTRALIZATION
Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization. Therefore, we support a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system. Decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all citizens.
6. COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMICS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
We recognize it is essential to create a vibrant and sustainable economic system, one that can create jobs and provide a decent standard of living for all people while maintaining a healthy ecological balance. A successful economic system will offer meaningful work with dignity, while paying a “living wage” which reflects the real value of a person’s work.
Local communities must look to economic development that assures protection of the environment and workers’ rights; broad citizen participation in planning; and enhancement of our “quality of life.” We support independently owned and operated companies which are socially responsible, as well as co-operatives and public enterprises that distribute resources and control to more people through democratic participation.
7. FEMINISM AND GENDER EQUITY
We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics. 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. Human values such as equity between the sexes, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be developed with moral conscience. We should remember that the process that determines our decisions and actions is just as important as achieving the outcome we want.
8. 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 believe that the many diverse elements of society should be reflected in our organizations and decision-making bodies, and we support the leadership of people who have been traditionally closed out of leadership roles. We acknowledge and encourage respect for other life forms than our own and the preservation of biodiversity.
9. PERSONAL AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal well-being 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.
10. FUTURE FOCUS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals. We seek to protect valuable natural resources, safely disposing of or “unmaking” all waste we create, while developing a sustainable economics that does not depend on continual expansion for survival. We must counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions.
THIS WORLD NEEDS RADICAL CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!
Though I am happy that some change from the vile and corrupt regime of the Neo-cons is taking place, I do not believe our new president is going nearly far enough.
Yes, bailing out the fucked-up copro-ations (corporations) greed meeting karma-dharma is unfortunately necessary, as their collapse would have harsh consequences on the poor and median-wage folks of the world. Yet his focus is still too much on fixing the rich-folks fuck-ups, i.e., preventing the collapse of the finance-cabal.
Yes, a step was taken towards providing stimulus money for "Green jobs," but not nearly enough.
Yes, Obama has pledged to stop federal government meddling in state laws regarding medical Cannabis, however, he has rejected the will of the people by refusing to consider the legalization of marijuana generally, as was displayed during his recent chat room "town hall" meeting. This despite the fact that marijuana is the NUMBER ONE CASH CROP in the country, and that taxing this crop would very quickly alleviate this nation's budget problems, create thousands of new jobs (taxing grower and dealer income that is currently not taxed), and allow for the creation of a vibrant hemp industry that could very quickly replace environmentally destructive logging practices, as well as replacing many petroleum-based products.
One harvested acre of hemp produces four-times the paper pulp of one acre of timber, and doesn't take forty years to grow, and can often be harvested multiple times per year!!
Yes, President Obama has pledged to remove troops from Iraq (a plus), but wants to send more troops to Afghanistan (a minus).
Yes, our new Prez has pledged to make health-care more affordable, but falls short of health care for all after the successful and fair models of Canada and Europe (don't believe the BULLSHIT about horror stories of long waits in Canada--been there and seen how it works. Canada's system is more just, more equitable, and their hospitals have better recovery rates).
Yes, the new administration has pledged, and taken many measures to protect the environment and to rescind the previous administrations exceeding irresponsibility regarding the environment, but his Secretary of the Interior has flip-flopped and once again taken wolves off the endangered species list.
Yes, President Barack Obama has made more movement towards sustainable energy production, but still leans on coal and oil far too heavily in energy policy as things now stand.
I have hopes that as this administration progresses, these issues and others will be given the attention they deserve, and that the radical actions needed to ensure a healthy and sustainable present and future for humans and animals and plants living on planet earth.
I am still not a Democrat, by the way (if you couldn't tell), and see the policies and platform of the Green Party as the only viable path to prosperity for the future.
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