New Social Democrats Logon
Members
Research
  Organize Now Web Research

Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals  2/17/2009 (153)
Notes:  The thirteen rules for community organizing from the book by Saul Alinksy.

The Obama Era: A Time for Organizing and Advocacy  2/9/2009 (272)
Deepak Bhargava - Article:  Assessing the first days of the Obama administration from the perspective of community organizing.

Working America Organizes  9/2/2008 (298)
David Moberg - Article:  About a new political organization of 2.5 million members: 'Working America,'

Organizing for Peace  3/9/2005 (147)
Amy Quinn - Article:  United for Peace and Justice representing 1400 member groups plans events, says Amy Quinn in this article.

Re-Wiring the Future of Community Organizing   2/28/2005 (128)
Article:  An article at the Digital Divide Network about Zack Rosen and CivicSpace Labs describes how the Internet can be used to organize.

Funding the Culture Wars  2/16/2005 (152)
Article:  A new report is released on where the religious right gets its money.

The Soul of a Citizen  1/14/2005 (143)
WebLink:  Book by Paul Rogat Loeg attacks cultural cynicism and points to how ordinary citizens can make their voices heard.

We Need a Moral Prophetic Minority   1/14/2005 (221)
Cornell West - Article:  'He who has never despaired has no need to have lived.' Goethe

Courage for the Struggle  1/14/2005 (180)
Paul Rogat Loeb - Comment:  About his book 'The Impossible Will Take a Little While.'

Taking Over the Republican Party  12/13/2004 (174)
Article:  This is a county action plan of the Christian Coalition to take over local Republican politics.

A Winning Values Strategy for Liberals  11/29/2004 (187)
Article:  George Lakoff summarizes his book on Moral Politics in this brief article. The book can also be helpful to parents in how to raise their children.

Another World is Possible: World Social Forum Meets in January, 2005   9/9/2004 (265)
Article :  The World Social Forum will meet in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from January 26 to 31, 2005.

David Cobb for President   11/20/2003 (538)
Article :  The Green Party candidate doesn't expect to get elected, but wants to build the party.

Campus Activism Resource   9/18/2003 (249)
WebLink :  This is a well-designed website providing helps for organizing on campus.

Global Renaissance Alliance Sponsors Peace Conference   7/22/2003 (247)
Comment :  Conference in Washington D.C. in September, 2003.

A New Center of Political Energy   6/9/2003 (248)
Comment :  The Campaign for America's Future sponsors a successful conference on practical politics today.

Five Guidelines for Organizing Anti-War Protests   4/1/2003 (244)
Reprint :  Cynthia Peters offers suggestions for organizers.

Stop This War and Change History   3/14/2003 (236)
Comment :  United for Peace calls people to action.

Get the Facts on the Right   3/14/2003 (297)
Comment :  A helpful website by Political Research Associates

Organizing Against War with Iraq   12/12/2002 (283)
Comment :  Win without War coalition organizes.

Watch Judicial Appointments   11/14/2002 (271)
Comment :  People for American Way will be watching judicial nominees.

Where to Find Peace Actions   10/13/2002 (231)
Comment :  Here are a couple of sources for information on actions on the Iraq war.

A Time for Talk   7/12/2002 (341)
Article :  When people are hurting it's time to talk. Put together your own little group to start.

Texas Democrat May Win Senate Seat   7/1/2002 (263)
Comment :  Ron Kirk, African American, may help Democrats control Senate.

Who Will Tell the People?   6/6/2002 (319)
William Greider - Reprint :  About cost benefit analysis and other technical tools of policy planning. The book is mainly about community organizing.

World Social Forum Draws 60,000   2/15/2002 (278)
Comment :  A gathering in Porto Alegre, Brazil
organize-now.jpg
Organize Now Section

(See also the Study Circle Section)

The heart of organizing is real conversation in one on one relationships. Cesar Chavez once said, "First you talk to one person, then you talk to another person, then you talk to another person..." So organizing begins where people talk, and talk honestly with one another. Be ready to hear the pain an anger of the other, be ready to be able to see where the other person is hurting, and be real, that is, identify the real powers that are causing the pain, not making excuses. Then join with others to resist those powers. This is the essence of organizing, building new communities of peace and justice.

Organizing includes:

  • Community Organizing on the local level, working to change governmental and economic systems so they work for everyone in the community. A key figure associated with such organizing is Saul Alinksy.
  • Political Organizing from local to world levels both through partisan politics and through advocacy groups.
  • Union Organizing bringing together workers in various industries to advocate for justice in the ways the fruits and benefits of enterprise are distributed. Jobs with Justice is a national campaign for workers’ rights which also works with other community groups.
  • Issue Organizing on key issues such as world trade, economic justice, environmental preservation, etc.
If you are involved in any form of organizing please tell us something about it. We would like to assist in any way we can.

Online Networking can be a way to connect with others. Here are some places to do so:
    More Liberal Discussion:
  • DailyKos. Very popular, lots of daily talk on practical politics and strategy from the moderate left, run by Markos Moulitsas and involves peer moderation.
  • Smirking Chimp. Very active, go here to vent, get after Bush, see what's making people mad.
  • MyDD. A political blog by Jerome Armstrong and Chris Bowers who write articles and others comment on them.
  • Eschaton. A personal site of Duncan Black, a 32 year old recovering economist living in Center City Philadelphia. It has been online since April, 2002, and currently gets an average of over 100,000 visits per day.
  • Democratic Underground. One of the premier left-wing websites on the Internet.
  • MoveOn. Not a discussion board, but you can get on their mailing list.
    More Conservative Discussion:
  • Free Republic. This is a popular discussion site for the righteous right. To read news from the right and read columns by Limbaugh, and Weyrich, go to Newsmax funded by conservative billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife.
  • Townhall.com. Portal site to conservative commentators, columnists, and discussion.


Another key aspect of organizing is good research. Among the many politically-oriented research organizations today we especially recommend the Center for American Progress. Public Agenda is a good place to start for research on public issues.

Polling Report. Summaries of polling data by the Pew Center.

It is worth noting here that two formal institutional structures dominate public life today: business corporations and government. People working in these structures can help suggest the best ways and means to influence these institutions.

And there is a third type of institutional structure also very important at this time in history, sometimes called Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) on the world level or non-profit organizations at the community level. It is often through such groups that organizing is done and in the various pages of this section we will present organizing opportunities through these groups.

--------

The image at top right is a poster by Ricardo Levins Morales from Northland Poster which features the art of social justice, the tools of grassroots union organizing and labor activism, and the craft of union workers.




  Sponsored by the Center for Public Responsibility About Us   Social Democracy   Real Politics   Smart Government   Free Society   Just Economy   Political Philosophy   Open Media   Interpretive Ethics   Global Peace   Urban Community   Earth Science   Deep Culture   Organize Now   Contact  Home  Subscribe   Subscribe-Donate
Web Research