Leadership Starts with Us
When the people lead the leaders will follow! Don't wait for a savior or organization to spring up and lead you.
People must organize ourselves, and unite for the greater good of the nation and in fact our world. WE are not alone!~ But we must start alone by ourselves where we are.
What we do here in the United States has a great impact on the entire planet!
How can we get people to even agree on what they are organizing for??
I think we can create our own "meetup" groups in our area. Wherever you live even if your group is a group of you and your mate that is great! Rhyme intended
My idea is we can create an "Active Citizen Group" where we meet to talk about the issues of our town, our state and country and learn about how our local state and federal government works.
Make a list of who currently is serving as:
1. School Board Members
2. City Council Members
3. Board of Supervisors
4. Mayor
5. State Senator State Assemblyperson
6. State Congress Member & Senator
Then distribute that list to every member of your group in a new notebook for your Active Citizen Group.
1. Have a sign in sheet to get peoples emails to update them on important local, state and federal elections and issues.
2. Have a website where your group can organize online be it your own or FB group or Google Hangouts.
3. Go to your local events at the parks, at Town Halls, at public speeches and invite people you hear speaking or see as active citizens to join your group.
4. Make a list of your groups top priorities to accomplish.
What is it you want to "organize for"?
For example:
a) To get people who share your values elected?
b) To improve your local school?
c) To share helpful and accurate information with your community?
d) To build a local free take one-leave one library?
e) To help reduce homelessness and help local shelters/pantries?
f) To help clean the beaches and local public parks?
d) To help women's shelters and fight human trafficking?
e) To help local seniors via seniors community centers?
f) To lobby the city council for a living wage or anti-citizens united resolution?
g) YOU DECIDE TOGETHER!
ACTIVITIES YOU CAN DO:
1. Bring a laptop to a local meeting space in a restaurant or firehouse and show recent episodes of:"
> Free Speech TV Democracy Now
> Rachel Maddow/All In/Now with Alex Wagner, etc...
>Youtube movies of Howard Zinn
>Screen movies like Network, Inside Job, Koch Brothers Exposed, others.
>Whatever inspires you to do more together, have a potluck and talk about becoming active effective citizens together!
2. Hold a Debate on local issues or national issues and invite your neighbors and local elected representatives to attend. Topics can include:
> What is a living wage and why should anyone get it?
> What do our elected representatives do all day anyway?
> What is GMO and where can we grow our own fresh food?
> How can we form our own local food or other co-op business that is worker owned to strengthen our group and our community by keeping more money and jobs locally?
> Universal Health Care or Corporate Private Health Care?
> Can a Peacetime Economy produce more jobs for everyone?
> Should it be legal for employers to fire people for being gay, lesbian or transgender?
> Does immigration help or hurt our economy?
> Should voting be mandatory?
3. Have a "game night" play Monopoly and use it as an opportunity to discuss Net Neutrality and the dangers of too much money in the hands of too few people to a free democratic Republic.
The more we get away from being isolated behind computer or phone screens and get back to meeting each other in public spaces the better off we all will be.
Well those are my suggestions.
Please let me know your thoughts on the above. Lets build a better country and world together!
My name is Joseph Segal.
I'm on the Board of Directors of The Forward Institute of Wisconsin.
I develop websites for progressive causes and candidates.
Please share this widely if you like it. Thank you!
www.JosephSegal.com
www.campaignwebsolutions.com