PROGRESSIVE CHEVERLY: MISSION AND PRINCIPLES
Adopted 3/6/2005
Our mission is to promote economic fairness, social justice, basic human rights, civil liberties, a sustainable environment, a tolerant society and world peace through a more informed political dialogue and active participation in civil society and the democratic political process.
To achieve our goals:
1) We recognize that each of us has the ability and the responsibility to create the society reflected in our principles.
2) We will look for effective solutions regardless of labels and origins.
3) Our membership and leadership will reflect our community’s diversity.
4) Recognizing that change requires the united action of many, we will reach out to other organizations and groups working toward common goals.
5) We will work to cultivate the next generation of progressive-minded citizens and leaders.
As we endeavor to change our society and address the many challenges we face, the principles below guide our work.
PRINCIPLES
1. Fair and Sustainable Economy and Livable Communities
We believe that…
a) As an educated society living in the richest country in the world, our society must provide the means for all of its members to have access to decent, affordable housing; adequate food and clothing; affordable, quality health care; and quality public education at all levels.
b) Our society and economy work better when workers have the right to a living wage, to organize and bargain collectively, to reasonably strike without the threat of reprisals or replacement, and to have safe and healthy working conditions, pensions and benefits.
c) Cultivating artistic and scientific discovery, creativity, and innovation strengthens and enriches our nation.
d) A fair tax system requires those individuals and businesses most able to pay to contribute the most to society’s protection and maintenance.
e) Our society must provide economic security to those facing unemployment, disability, injury, sickness, and old age.
f) All members of society should feel safe at home and in their neighborhoods.
g) An ecologically sound economy must meet society’s material needs through sustainable use of nontoxic and renewable energy, materials and processes.
h) Society must conserve, restore and protect its natural resources and prevent further degradation of the environment.
2. Democracy and Social Justice
We believe that…
a) Democracy must drive our organizations and institutions at all levels.
b) Democratically elected government is essential to provide for the common good.
c) Government must be efficiently run, fiscally responsible and operationally transparent.
d) Individuals have a responsibility to exercise their political and economic rights in a manner that does not abuse the rights of others.
e) Discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, age, class, religious beliefs or unbelief, sexual orientation, disability, health status, and national origin or citizenship has no place in our society.
f) Corporations have a responsibility not only to shareholders but to all stakeholders, including the communities in which they operate and the workers they employ.
g) Access to power must be independent of wealth.
h) The democratic promise of our society, and the power to change our country, will be fulfilled only through maximum participation in the democratic political process.
i) The criminal justice system must be humane, with emphasis on rehabilitation rather than retribution, and must fairly punish offenders for their behavior, regardless of their race, gender, gender identity, income, or class.
j) Drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental illness must be treated as issues of public health.
k) Individuals must have the right to make health decisions without governmental interference.
l) All immigrants and refugees are entitled to basic rights, regardless of immigration status.
3. Real Security and Peace
We believe that…
a) Americans must join with other nations to strengthen global institutions that protect the vulnerable, promote self-government, and improve the health and welfare of all people.
b) Our nation’s security depends on working together with other nations, practicing diplomacy, respecting national differences, promoting peace rather than war, and addressing root causes of violence and conflict such as poverty, inequality and lack of political freedom.
c) Our nation must maintain an effective and efficient military to defend and maintain peace and should only send our soldiers into harm’s way as a last resort after full diplomatic options have been exhausted.
d) Our men and women in the military, who risk their lives for their country, deserve fair treatment and the full benefits promised to them by our government.
e) Our nation has a responsibility to emulate democratic principles in its relations with other nations. To do this it is fundamental that our foreign policy is based on human rights, protecting workers’ rights and protecting the global environment.