Spotlight on...the Green Party - Part One, The Ten Key Values 1-5

Cynicism toward our government seems to be spreading wider than Rush Limbaugh's jowls. Americans, experiencing an alarming lack of trust and faith in their elected leaders, are abandoning the two-party system faster than the expansion of Keith Olbermann's ego. In fact, more and more Americans are instead preferring to call themselves “Independents,” and for good reason. I believe that we're finally realizing that neither party is actually working for the people's best interests.

Which is why it is important to seek alternatives in politics just as it is in life. The people crave to be heard, to have a genuine voice in this country. And they're not getting it from the elephants and donkeys, as unions continue to be vilified by the right-wing media, as multinational corporations continue to dictate the American Dream, and as more and more servicemen and women die on the battlefield in wars that have become harder and harder to justify.

Which is why I've decided to spotlight a true alternative to conservatives and liberals, to the left and right, to...hell, Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. So I present to you the Green Party. A party that, on paper, wallows in the ideals and dreams of the American people. Perhaps that's only because the party isn't yet big enough to be corrupted, but, just this once, let's be optimistic.

In Part One we'll look at the first 5 Key Values of the Green Party.

1. Grassroots Democracy - “Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect his or her life and should not be subject to the will of another.” A true grassroots approach to government is a radical concept. Even at the outset of this country the government was created with the role of protecting corporate interests, particularly the railroads and slave owners. If the ordinary citizen stands up and actively takes part in the government's decision-making process it would be a revolutionary act. No longer would the people need violent outcry and protest to change laws and restrictions they deem unjust. The Green Party believes in working to increase public participation at every level of government to directly include citizens in this process.

2. Social Justice and Equal Opportunity - “All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment.” America likes to see itself as a country free of racism, homophobia, sexism, ageism, and prejudices against the disabled and a person's religious or anti-religious views, but we're not. These are not battles to be won, but struggles that will always plague a complacent society if left unchecked. The Green Party believes we must consciously confront ourselves, or organizations, and society at large if we want to live in a world truly free of discrimination and social injustice.

3. Ecological Wisdom - “Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature.” Okay, some may call this a hippy value or blatant “tree-huggery,” but what it simply means is we cannot continue to rape the earth of its natural resources. We must find alternative, renewable sources of energy as well as practice agriculture that replenishes the soil, so that future generations won't have to suffer for our gluttony.

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.” The Green Party's idea of foreign policy is so alien to the traditional American way that most people may view it as a Utopian dream fantasy. I don't. The party believes simply that engagement with the rest of the world through peace talks, negotiations, agreements with mutual benefit, and non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree could quite possibly lead to a new era of respect between nations, even “rogue” nations, if not outright civility. Foreign nations don't just “decide” to hate the United States, and it's not because of our freedom, as the previous administration kept telling us to believe. American foreign policy has a long and bloody history of being a strictly one-way street for too long. Respect for the rest of the planet could lead to lasting and wonderful peace. How do you know if you've never even tried it?

5. Decentralization - “Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization.” It's hard to argue with that statement. When the vast majority of the country's wealth and power rests in the hands of a very few, the American people become numbers, statistics, consumers. When the people have no power they lose the ability to make educated, unbiased decisions about their country. They have only corporate-run media for their information. They lose their say in critical decisions that affect their social standing, the safety of goods they can acquire, the quality and beauty of the immediate environment in which they live, and the role of their country in relation to the rest of the world. The Green Party supports a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions. They believe, again, that decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the local and individual level. Less bureaucrats, less corporate say in politics, no more wars for profit, and we all win.

Coming next: Spotlight on...The Green Party - Part One, the Ten Key Values, 6-10