Where Are We Going? A Vision Statement Invites Your Thoughts

by David Lewit, Boston/Cambridge Alliance & National Council ombudsman
The Alliance for Democracy is a unique organization. Not only does it seek to end corporate rule and promote true democracy as several other organizations do, but it is structured bottom-up—with members and chapters as well as a national council. This compound structure has persisted for ten years, but in that time, AfD has lost members and chapters, and to be effective and true to its original vision, needs to replace them.

The decline in membership may stem from the many other issues that have claimed the attention of progressives over the last few years: the war, two stolen elections, and the need for direct aid to survivors of natural disasters here and overseas. These destabilizing actions and subsequent horrors distracted Alliance members as well as the general public from maintaining a focus on world trade, or protecting the commons from corporate exploitation, or the building of co-op communities.

Now these distractions are dissipating as the truth is becoming known and accepted about electoral theft and government lies leading to war and repression. We may be at a “tipping” or “take off” point with respect to Alliance aims. But do we know exactly where and how we are to go?

In March, national co-chair Nancy Price met for several hours with AfD office staff and several members in the Boston area. At that time David Lewit, of the Boston/Cambridge Alliance, and John Terrell, of the North Bridge Alliance chapter, accepted the challenge of drafting a vision statement for the Alliance, as an example of where we might go in the near future, and how to do it. The result is a 2,700-word paper, and a 300-word sample vision statement embodying nuances from Nancy as well as the authors.

The sample vision statement reads as follows:

Alliance Mission:
“The mission of the Alliance for Democracy is (1) to free all people from corporate domination of politics, economics, culture, the environment, and information; (2) to establish true democracy; and (3) to create a just society with a sustainable, equitable economy.” —Adopted 1997

Alliance Vision for Next Ten Years:

1. Strong local chapters with regional integration and national facilitation. Chapters know which corporations have positive or negative influences on their communities. Projects are undertaken in cooperation with friendly local groups as well as other AfD chapters.
2. Good communication within and between chapters regionally, across regions, nationally, and internationally. A well-organized and interactive Alliance web site is connected to regional AfD and allied group web sites. Regions are defined for easy visiting among chapters.
3. Solidarity. The Alliance reaches out to working and oppressed groups and develops exchange visits and partnerships. Current events are understood from the viewpoints of the oppressed, the marginal, and the foreign, as well as the liberal and conservative establishments.
4. Strategic justification of projects. Local groups take into account the aims, justifications, needs and progress of other relevant projects as well as their own. Actions are planned and modified in view of social, economic, and political forces which speed or impede their progress.
5. New funding. Members support projects in which they are involved actively or as observers. The national Alliance leverages contributions by highlighting local achievements as well as national projects. Chapter help is a major part of the national AfD budget. The national Alliance compiles foundation and government sources consistent with Alliance aims. Discretionary funds are distributed through a Council of the Budget elected regionally.
6. Nonviolent resistance. When corporations or governments (local, state, national, or international—direct or through front organizations) set up barriers to our justified initiatives, including expensive and drawn-out legal procedures, we engage in selected actions from a wide range of strategically and morally appropriate tactics. We prepare by studying valid historical, sociological, and technical theory and practices.

For a copy of the supporting article, please visit the New England Alliance chapters web page.

Please communicate or meet with other Alliance members and comment and/or draft a vision statement that makes sense to you. Share your statements with the authors (care of dlewit@icg.org ) with an eye toward collective action by Alliance members—an eye on something which may guide us in our new decade, and may inform others, promote public discussion, and possibly attract new members or allies.