INTRODUCTION

The National Coalition for Social and Political Reform has a varied network of members and supporters around the Nation. At the latest count, there were more than 3,247 members, supporters and subscribers in 14 states. Although they come from many different backgrounds and have widely different political and religious beliefs, they are united by a determination to work for a world where everyone enjoys civil and human rights protections, and when trouble strikes, are treated fairly by those sworn to uphold justice for all, and to hold those who do not, accountable. This Coalition is a democratic, self-governing movement. Major policy decisions are made by a National Council made up of expert representatives from all national sectors and walks of life. The Coalition's national and local volunteer groups are primarily responsible for funding the movement. No funds are sought or accepted from governments for the Coalition's work in investigating and campaigning against civil and human rights violations.

Our current mindset is that many people within our Government have done a great deal of damage to our society. We believe that our founding fathers never intended for politics to ba a "career." Our founding fathers were farmers, ranchers, merchants and common folks who all dreamed of Liberty and Justice for All as a way of life. The majority of our members are Constitutionalists. That is, common people who believe that our Constitution must be the supreme law of the land, and will give up their lives to assure it reamins as such. Coalition members share their opinions and expertise through our website, at annual conferences, regional meetings, community workshops, special councils on foundation, membership drives, and, community education and outreach campaigns. Our greatest goal is to build a community campaigning system where neighbors conduct meetings with eachother and discuss the issues of social, political, economic, and legislative injustices in their home state and the Nation. We believe the morale of our people has drastically declined in recent years due to corruption in Congress, the media, and even in our state houses of representatives. Moreover, we believe that legal professionals have become too entrenched in our Government, and seek to remove such career law professionals from serving too many terms in office. We believe that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and when some are in power positions for too long, corruption is inevitable.

We believe organization brings hope for disadvantaged people. It means making their institutions relevant. But most of all, organization means power. It means being able to do something about things they've been frustrated about all their lives. Even in todays economy, wages continue to stagnate or erode for those in the bottom half of the nations income distribution. Close to 43 million Americans are medically uninsured and poverty remains entrenched in inner-city and rural communities across the country. Meanwhile, the income and wealth of those at the top of various corporations have grown exponentially. Moreover, each year, new laws are enacted that target disadvantaged people to increase their burdens even further. Executives in the Forbes 400 now hold as much wealth as the 50 million households in the bottom half of our population. Study after study has documented that political participation in and beyond the voting booth is skewed by class, with upper-income and more educated citizens participating more frequently and at higher rates than those with fewer financial resources and years of schooling. We find this troubling and see a need to fix it. To paraphrase one observer of the American political landscape, "the heavenly choir of American interests continues to sing with an upper-class accent."

Hate crimes have grown in popularity and frequency, and almost all Americans mistrust, not only their own Government, but their neighbors as well. Paranoia and moral panic has become an epidemic. For us, community organizing is a process by which people organize themselves to take charge of their situation and make needed changes, thus developing a sense of pride and unity. It is a particularly effective tool for the poor and powerless to determine for themselves the actions they will take to deal with the forces that are destroying their community and consequently causing them to struggle. Organizing does two things to rectify the problem of power imbalance. It builds a permanent base of "people power" so that dominant financial and institutional leaders can be challenged and held accountable to values of greater social, legislative and economic justice; and, it transforms individuals and communities into mutually respectful co-creators of public ethics and integrity standards, rather than passive objects of decisions made by others. Inclusiveness, that's what we are all about. Community organizations are unlike other kinds of voluntary associations that, in most cases, tend to draw their membership from a narrow social base and leadership from business and professional elites. As a matter of principle, Coalition groups are generally committed to developing the membership and leadership from a broad spectrum of communityies with many expressly dedicated to fostering participation among groups that have been absent from the table, including communities of color, low-income constituencies, immigrants, sexual minorities and youth. Working with marginalized people demands a high level of skill, a frank acknowledgment of power disparities, and a major investment of time and effort is required.

THE BREADTH OF OUR MISSION AND VISION:

In principle, every issue that affects the welfare of the community or an individual is within the Coalition's purview, where other civic institutions tend to get stuck on certain functions, eventually losing sight of a community's "family" problems. In practice, strong (but by no means all) Community organizations have proven adept at integrating a diverse set of issues and linking them to a larger vision of the common good. This is a holistic function that has been largely abandoned by political parties, churches, schools and other civic institutions, and we believe that it is the source of our current social and economic decline. Where has American pride been hiding? Why has our productivity, and quality assurance gone?

OUR LEADERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION:

It was women, going door-to-door, speaking with their neighbors, meeting in voter-registration classes together, and organizing through their churches that gave the vital momentum and energy to their movement, that made it a mass movement. Community Organizing places its faith in the value of people working together for common ends, and in what they can do if given appropriate "democratic" guidance and opportunities. In Community Organizing, the "people" lead. Without them there is nothing that can properly be called Community Organizing. Organizers call the work they do to involve people based idea building. Life's struggles are continuous and challenging. Whether done through religious institutions, as in the faith-based approach to Community Organizing, or directly with individuals and families in direct membership in Community Organizing groups the struggles seem endless. Foundation building is recruiting and engaging new people, keeping current members motivated and involved, and deepening member participation. The foundation of support is called Base-Building. Base-building is not a project that can easily fit into narrowly defined categories. The effectiveness of community organizations is hard to measure, but is critical. A strong and successful Community Organizing base must have qualities like heart, hope, persistence, resilience and energy. It must be truly representative of and accountable to the entire community, continuously making room for new people and their ideas, adapting to new circumstances as they arise.

Funders often invest in Community Organizations because they believe in the way Community Organizations reach out and involves people who have not been well served by societal institutions. Those who aren't voting or don't believe that their voices count are usually the most hard hit by injustice. Funders want to see hard core results; changes in policies, new jobs in the community, reductions in health hazards and other similar societal needs be fulfilled. But they also know that the work of change is responsive to, and owned by the community, and takes long-term base-building efforts to fulfill missions. The Importance of Developing Community Leaders is a job for our education systems. Any business, governmental unit, nonprofit organization, or foundation rises or falls with the quality of its leadership. In our opinion, CORPORATE BAIL OUT'S should never be an option again! EVER!

One critical dilemma is how to depolarize in order to negotiate resolution of these conflicts. Another dilemma is how to balance the work of campaigns with the ongoing work of organizational survival. Organizers build community by developing leadership. They focus on identifying leaders and enhancing their skills, values and commitments. They also focus on building strong communities: communities through which people can gain new understanding of their interests as well as power to act on them. Organizers work at constructing communities which are bounded yet inclusive, communal yet diverse, solidarity oriented, yet tolerant of others. They work at developing a relationship between community and leadership based on mutual responsibility and accountability.

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