A VISION: A Purple Alliance
Imagine: A massive grassroots Purple Alliance consistently persuades Washington to respect the will of the people. Rooted in a long-term view, the Alliance focuses on achievable short-term goals that move toward fundamental reform.
Process
Once a month the Purple Alliance mobilizes two million members — roughly one of every 100 registered voters — to communicate to their Congressperson the same message at the same time. All members do so at least once a month; some do more. Every member of the House of Representatives is contacted.
To guide their actions, Alliance members endorse a declaration of principles. This statement affirms cultural, personal, social, economic, and political changes that serve humanity, the environment, and life itself.
The Alliance backs proposed legislation supported by two-thirds of the American people, including a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — legislation that directly serves the interest of most Americans.
They focus on short-term measurable goals, such as a certain number of co-sponsors on a particular bill. Members make phone calls, send emails, write letters, visit their Congressperson’s offices, talk to them at a public meeting, or participate in a demonstration. They ask representatives who already support their goal how they can do more, such as helping to raise funds for the campaign.
Many activist organizations urge their members to back the mobilization, which addresses the nation’s collective interest — while continuing to work on their own issue the rest of the month.
The Alliance often achieves victory within a month. Then the Alliance decides whether to shift its focus to the Senate or the President.
When rapid victory is not achieved, the Alliance decides whether to gather more support from individuals, organizations, community leaders, and local governments — or switch to another issue.
When Congresspersons consistently refuse to support Alliance campaigns, the Alliance helps to elect new representatives who support the Alliance.
The growing strength of the Alliance encourages partisan legislators to sidestep partisan loyalties and support bipartisan measures supported by a majority of their party’s members.
Each victory expands the horizons of what is possible. Many activists who have pushed reforms without majority support are able to get more backing for their proposals.
In these ways, the Alliance buillds its power, improves living conditions, and relieves suffering.
Teams
Many members participate in an Alliance team with other members who live in the same Congressional district that works together to support the monthly mobilization. They engage in activities such as agreeing on the best use of their time, going to their Congressperson’s office, helping each other edit letters, or joining in a demonstration. Many of these teams join a network of district teams that share ideas and encouragement.
Many teams also constitute themselves as a mutual-support group whose members commit themselves to support each other in their efforts to become better human beings (with each member defining their own goals). As meetings convene, members report briefly on their recent self-development efforts. Members benefit from articulating their feelings, having others listen, getting to know each other, and reminding themselves of their commitment to work on their personal growth.
In addition to the personal check in, some mutual-supprt groups also engage in other activities that nurture a deeper sense of community — such as pot luck dinners followed by open, democratic conversations facilitated with a “talking stick.” But the only formal method used by all mutual-support teams is the pre-meeting check-in. Some groups send representatives to a network of mutual-support groups that meet to share reports on their activities.
In districts where the Congressperson doesn’t already do so, the Alliance works with other organizations to persuade the Congressperson to convene a monthly community dialog with constituents. These dialogs, moderated by a local journalist, are structured with time limits to assure that they’re not dominated by the Congressperson. Since speakers are selected randomly, they enable constituents to have a fair and equal opportunity to ask questions and make statements.
Community organizations are allowed to set up tables to distribute literature. These forums, which are held at the same time each month, enable activist organizations to mobilize their members to speak to the Congressperson without having to arrange their own meeting. Many Alliance members participate as a way to communicate the monthly message.
Congresspersons publicize the dialog in their official communications to constituents. When Congresspersons are unable to participate, their chief of staff represents them.
In these ways, the Alliance is grounded in face-to-face networks that build a sense of community, provide mutual support, practice democracy, and facilitate peer learning. These interpersonal bonds help to nudge reluctant members toward ongoing action.
This holistic democracy movement addresses the whole person, the whole society, and the environment. It helps to build a powerful grassroots force for compassionate change in national policy. Elections are important, but insufficient. Grassroots power is also needed to pressure elected officials year-round. Grounded in compassion and evolutionary revolution, this movement advances the systemic transformation of the entire society.
The exact shape of the new world cannot be predicted. Neither can the timing. But eventually, the character and structure of our society becomes qualitatively improved— grounded in a commitment to what is best for all mankind.
Resources
The potential for this broad-based, holistic democracy movement is blooming. Numerous new inspiring, insightful books and other writing nurture this movement. And many movements are contributing to compassionate personal, social, cultural, economic, environmental, and political reform.
The racial justice movement is calling for fundamental criminal justice reform, controlling unconscious bias, and minimizing microaggressions.
The #MeToo movement is calling for new laws and structures to deal with sexual harrassment and exploitation.
The gay movement is calling for basic human rights and social acceptance.
Students, parents, and teachers are calling for methods that rely on self-directed peer learning rather than “teaching to the test.”
The public-benefit corporation movement is calling for businesses to serve the community and their workers as well as the bottom line.
The labor movement is calling for the public to support workers right to organize, have a voice in operations, and representation on boards of directors.
The cooperative movement is calling for more public support for worker-owned and -directed businesses.
The anti-war movement is calling for greater international problem-solving.
The environmental movement is calling for green energy jobs as a way to help assure the means to a decent life.
The voting rights movement is calling for every government to make it easy to vote.
The public health movement is calling for measures that will prevent illness.
The mutual aid movement is calling on people to reach out to their neighbors in need.
The spiritual activist movement is calling on believers to correct root causes of preventable suffering as well as work on their spiritual development.
The self-help and personal growth communities are encouraging people to love themselves as well as their neighbor.
The nonviolence community is calling everyone to practice nonviolence as a way of life.
The Democratic Party — a substantially bottom-up, democratic, diverse coalition that has affirmed many calls for social and environmental justice — could be a key participant in the Purple Alliance.
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These movements are gaining strength, but rarely do they identify as members of the same movement based on shared principles that affirm personal change. They neglect self-development to undo the social conditioning that foments division.
Rather, they focus on changing others. They only aim to impact others’ opinions and actions. They talk more than they listen. They assume they have the answer. They disrespect those who hold different opinions. They commit themselves to organize, teach, train, mobilize and activate, but their egos become too highly invested in these top-down relationships. The targets of their efforts don’t appreciate this disrespect, so they react negatively.
If activists engaged in more critical self-examination, supported each other in overcoming their arrogance and other weaknesses, and resolved to avoid their mistakes, they could increase their effectiveness.
Organizers also assume attitudes of superiority with each other. They care too much about their relative rank, and engage in debilitating, internal power struggles.
Moreover, organizations heatedly compete with each other, resulting in unnecessary fragmentation. If they cultivated greater unity and supported each other with projects such as a Purple Alliance, they could accomplish more together than they can fragmented.
The Way Forward
What roadblocks stand in the way of building sustained, massive, grassroot power? What worldviews can overcome these obstacles? How can concerned individuals support each other with their self-development and contribute to holistic and systemic transformation?
This website addresses these questions and invites you to contribute by suggesting additional resources for the site. Also, if you’re interested in helping to organize a Purple Alliance or a holistic democracy movement, please let us know and we’ll put you in touch with others who share your interest.
COMMENTS
The idea of activating local teams around the country to common purpose is wonderful. It is made even more powerful with the inclusion of 'self-development' as an additional commitment of these teams.
Questions that leap to mind:
o How will this vast number of teams share information, coordination with one another?
o How will the full set pay attention to similar goals in order to generate the legislative change required?
—Larry Walker
Good questions. I assume the organizers of this project would need to address them
—Wade Lee Hudson