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Paul Abowd

Mar 31, 04 - 10:52 AM

SDS mission statement, values, goals, ideas

Hey all- I am off to class shortly, but I wanted to open up an area for us to add our thoughts regarding our mission statement etc. I will be adding some of my thoughts later on today, just wanted to establish a mini-forum. Alright peace

willie

Mar 31st, 2004 - 1:37 PM

Re: SDS mission statement, values, goals, ideas

good idea paul. um, well i think that we should focus on kind of short bullet statements- so that people who might be interested in us will have somethingshort to look over that gives a general idea of what we are about. and soemthing that we can hand out at festifall. so maybe something like, 5 things we want to change at the university, five thing in government 5 things in ann arbor. that kind of thing, also goals for the future etc. ok see you all tommorrow.
-willie

Paul Abowd

Mar 31st, 2004 - 2:03 PM

Re: SDS mission statement, values, goals, ideas

Strategic Vision for Students for a Democratic Society

I believe in the foundation of American democratic values, adoption of the flag, I think we can work to make america what its founding documents declare it to be. This requires not only on our part an adherence and active use of our freedoms to assembly and expression, but a commitment to changing this country from the inside, given our immense power as citizens and as a community. Given this attitude, I believe that it is imperative to think about, discuss, and try to tackle issues that affect our society, our community, our campus. However, I also don’t think that our mission, or our scope of consciousness should or can be limited to our nation and our community. While there are plenty of issues and problems in America and even on campus and in the town of Ann Arbor, I believe it is imperative not to lose sight of the international economic, political and social situation of our world. As Americans who possess great freedoms, we should not hesitate to fight and raise awareness about the plight of the world in many aspects. Basically what I am saying is that we can and should fight in solidarity with other people from other countries who want the same rights and freedoms that all humans deserve. These issues, while larger and perhaps harder to grasp are still real problems, and they potentially have real solutions. I think we can take part in solving them through education and action, constructive and prominent participation on campus, the creation of events on campus and in the community that will provoke discussion, debate, and hopefully plant the seeds of change and mobilization.

I am against obnoxious behavior and self-labels, and I fear that our group will lose legitimacy not only with mainstream students but with many liberal minded people who may be interested in joining or just listening to what we have to say. I have observed this behavior from BAMN, an organization with whom I basically agree, and with whom I now, because of their tactics, refuse to associate myself with. I think tactics can make a huge difference in a group’s effectiveness. I don’t, however believe that SDS should serve merely an educative role (flyering and lectures etc.), I do believe there is a time and place for protest and action that can in effect make people aware of the issues at hand. I don’t even really believe that making people angry is a bad thing, in fact I think we should try to do that as much as possible as long as our group remains open to debate, discussion and reasoned disagreement with those who are angry or offended by our stance. I am still learning how to separate raw emotion from political debate because I find many of these issues to be very personal to me. But in the interest of credibility, I think it is wise to try to not let emotions overrun our activism and our actions while still playing an integral role in motivating us. This mixture of reason, patience, open-mindedness and passion is what I am striving to achieve when I deal with other people regarding politics and is what I see as a constructive and stable basis for the SDS.

Self labels like socialist, democrat, anarchist, republican etc. are not, in my mind constructive methods for our group. Granted, SDS itself may represent a label given its historical context… perhaps this is a point of discussion for the group. Personally I think SDS carries a historical resonance that is important for our recognition on campus, and unlike “socialism” or “anarchism” I don’t believe it attaches a negative connotation to our group or our mission. I must say that many of the socialist ideals are those that I believe in and want to advocate, I don’t think, in the interest of image, that it is necessary to label ourselves socialist. Our group, if it so decides, can advocate and organize events or protests that may advocate a better distribution of resources, or more socialist ideas, without really declaring that we stand for socialism. This I think is the wisest avenue for SDS.

A few quick ideas for discussion, debate.

1. The evolution of SDS from its birth: I believe that although we may keep the name “SDS,” we should all be aware of the different context in which we live today, and how that should apply to our motivations and expectations for SDS. I think we can effectively drop comparisons to its success and fate in the sixties while still keeping the original activist spirit of the organization.

2. feelings of urgency juxtaposed with the acceptance of the idea that change will be gradual. I feel like many of our goals probably will not be achieved in this lifetime, but that our fight is part of a larger one for humanity, for our children, and for the ultimate preservation of the human race.

I have much more to say, but I also don’t want to drag on. I look forward to meeting with you all on Thursday (tommorow the 1st) at 730

dzymm

Mar 31st, 2004 - 2:46 PM

Re: SDS mission statement, values, goals, ideas

Aight - here's what I wrote up. I'll bring copies to the meeting, too

Suggestions for an SDS mission statement / letter to the community:

I see SDS as a gathering of students, traditional and otherwise, dedicated to creating social change. We believe that all people are entitled to live in a free and democratic society, and not be denied life’s basic necessities on account of class, creed, race or nation. We agree that many of our government’s leaders have been doing things that run contrary both to our idea of what is right and to the Constitution and will of the American people. Additionally, many heads of the Global Economic Community as well as economic forces in general have been growing destructive to human freedom, happiness and potential.

Though our ultimate goal is to effect fundamental change in the system, we realize that action must be guided by wisdom. Response without knowledge and understanding will merely put us on the level with Bush and his ‘gut instincts’.

More specifically (and in the more realistic future), we aim to involve ourselves in whatever communities we are members of, and in the public discourse, in order to spread information about the problems and inequities which haunt our society. It is also necessary that, when we learn of a directly accessible or urgent problem, we are willing to take whatever direct action we can in order help remedy it. This must definitely include organizing protests, but I also think it would be useful to looking into alternative forms of action. I encourage every member to think about what might be some good ways to combat the issues they see as most pressing. For anyone who’s around during the summer, it’d be a great time to work on some subversive activities!

We also need do some real research, not just into the causes that others have already identified, but into the problems which may be causing the inequality and exploitation that we see in the world around us. I think it’s especially important that we examine which overarching forces and dogmas may be causing these evils. This’d be another good summer project!

dzymm

Mar 31st, 2004 - 3:06 PM

Re: SDS mission statement, values, goals, ideas

*footnote

I agree with the importance of all the issues Rachel addressed, and would like to add a couple of my own.

- Elimination of privacy and the creation of an 'information state' in which all communication is monitored and regulated. This is an area where we'll find we have lots of allies on what's usually thought of the conservative side of the scale, and if we don't act like a bunch of star-eyed ivory tower hippies we might even be able to cooperate with some of them

PROTECT FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!

- The obscenely wasteful use of natural resources by corporations, and our government's complicity with them. The food industry is especially flagrant - your average processed food contains something like 1 calorie of nutrients for every 10 calories of EDIBLE, GRAIN NUTRIENTS that was put into it. That means, if the waste factor were reduced by even 1/3, we would have THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF PROCESSED FOOD CONSUMED IN THE UNITED STATES EVERY YEAR left over in the form of grain, which we could give or sell cheaply to famine-wracked countries.
Also, Gasahol = Bad. All i know about this is it's some kind of corn-derived gasoline additive and it wastes a ****ton of corn and is basically useless.

- George Bush redily admits to believing, as part of his religion (some oddball spinoff of Methodism), that he recieves communication directly from God in the form of 'gut instincts', which he then acts on. Therefore, not only is he an *******, there's also a good chance that he's at least somewhat insane. Even if he's not (or at least not dangerously so), if YOU thought God telling you what to do, would you be inclined to be very democratic? I know I wouldn't!!
Also, Dick Cheny is SATAN INCARNATE!
Something has to be done about this.

willie

Apr 1st, 2004 - 1:11 PM

Re: SDS mission statement, values, goals, ideas

hey everyone- well i know we are having our meeting in a couple of hours but i thought that i would just write and say that i agree one hundred percent with what paul wrote. i think that he lays out very well the balance that must be struck between radicalism and the middle of the road, as well as the balance between sds of the 60's and sds now. because, as paul said, there are similarites, but ther are also differences and we have to make sure that we are addressing today and not 1960. but more inportantly we have to make sure that we are addressing the issues of today in a manner that meets the times, that is to say, in a way that the studnets of today can relaate to. we have to understand that radical and liberal are generally thought of as dirty words today, and that if we ever want to gain the membership numbers that will enable us to truly be effective we have to be careful about the causes we choose to support and how we choose to support them. i also agree that we have to have not only the unoiversity and the united states in mind but also the world. it is the greatest privelege to be an American, and we must make sure that we as an organization do all that we can to return the democracy that the founders concieved to it's full strength. i would like uis to be thought of not so much as radicals, but as advocates of the priciples of democracy. ok, hope i didn't misconstrue what you wrote paul. hope to see everyone tonight.
-willie

willie

Apr 1st, 2004 - 1:13 PM

Re: SDS mission statement, values, goals, ideas

i meant to write, i hope i didn't misconstrue what you wrote, sorry
-willie

Clifton

Apr 1st, 2004 - 8:52 PM

A thought

This is all terribly broad stuff. If U of M sds is to create a document of substance it should have as much detail and factual information as is available to citizens without the benefit of special access to what the government can't let its people know. Getting some of that stuff would be good too. Speaking of a big picture doesn't help anyone anywhere and it doesn't even give a direction from my perspective. Idealism and serious critical analysis are not complimentary and shouldn't be interchangeable. That fact on Bush is interesting. Sounds like just what the United States needs... another Holy crusade. Solidarity & Struggle,

Clifton

Rocky

Apr 1st, 2004 - 11:42 PM

Re: SDS mission statement, values, goals, ideas

I slightly and respectfully disagree with you Clifton. We need to outline broad principles and values, in order to create a document that is true to the members of SDS and a document that can stand the test of time. In my opinion, the Port Huron Statement may have been too detailed, and thus we may want to consider starting from scratch when writing our founding document. The founding document, in my opinion, should be short and to the point, and it should state our goals and aspirations in very broad strokes. And then, based on those goals and aspirations and ideals that we put down in our founding document for this new generation of SDS, all subsequent literature should narrow its focus on specific issues--but we should always be guided by certain broad principles...ex. a peaceful world, a world without war, an end to poverty, adequate health care for all, affordable and decent housing for all, an end to the drug war, prison reform, campaign finance reform, an end to corporate dominance of our media and our government, education reform, etc...and then from there we begin producing literature that specificly deals with these problems...ex., force the university to end all contracts with the military, get involved with ending sprawl, organize teach-ins, review our government's existing policies as regards its stance on poverty both at home and abroad....our broad principles will attract large numbers and once they enter SDS then can strategize and organize around whatever specific issues interest them, but these specific interests should always be guided by our vision of the ideal world and how we intend to create that ideal world, i.e. our goals

Luis-Alejandro Dinnella-Borrego

Jun 21st, 2004 - 7:38 AM

Re: SDS mission statement, values, goals, ideas

I've been in contact with a lot of you, and I think we need to eventually have our own "Port Huron." I do have as I have mentioned, an already written first draft about eleven pages long, titled the "Outcry of SDS." I sent it to older SDSers (Tom Hayden and Mark Rudd) and both approved of it, especially Tom who like my "revisions" to Port Huron. I'm not saying anything is set in stone, it isn't, but I think what I've got might make a good starting point.

Since it's too long to post on here, I'll give you all the link:

http://www.geocities.com/ladb2007/theoutcryofsds.html

Peace, Love, Justice, Freedom!

In Solidarity,

Luis
Dartmouth SDS

Criticalthinker68

Mar 11th, 2005 - 11:03 AM

Re: SDS mission statement, values, goals, ideas

Dear Friends,
Framing and making adjustments to our name and symbol is a very important part in establishing a credible frame!

I would suggest in hooking up or adapting with the Attac symbol % from Europe.
It is not too critical and can still grow with different interpretations and meanings!
Im worried about using the term and word SDS, as it will cause many people to start historical research adventures instead of concrete political action.

Anyways, ATTAC sounds better and may be something to look into.
Platform of the international movement ATTAC

International movement for democratic control of financial markets and their institutions
Adopted at the international meeting of December 11-12, 1998.

Financial globalization increases economic insecurity and social inequalities. It bypasses and undermines popular decision-making, democratic institutions, and sovereign states responsible for the general interest. In their place, it substitutes a purely speculative logic that expresses nothing more than the interests of multinational corporations and financial markets.

In the name of a transformation of the world depicted as a natural law, citizens and their representatives find their decision-making power contested. Such a humiliating proof of impotence encourages the growth of anti-democratic parties. It is urgent to block this process by creating new instruments of regulation and control, at the national, European, and international levels. Experience clearly shows that governments will not do so without encouragement. Taking up the double challenge of social implosion and political desperation thus requires a dramatic increase in civic activism.

The total freedom of capital circulation, the existence of tax havens, and the explosion of the volume of speculative transactions have forced governments into a frantic race to win the favor of big investors. Every day, one hundred billion dollars pass through the currency markets in search of instant profits, with no relation to the state of production or to trade in goods and services. The consequences of this state of affairs are the permanent increase of income on capital at the expense of labor, a pervasive economic insecurity, and the growth of poverty.

The social conseqences of these developments are even more severe for dependent countries that are directly affected by the financial crisis and are subjected to the dictates of the IMF's adjustment plans. Debt service requires governments to lower social service budgets to a minimum and condemn societies to underdevelopment. Interest rates much higher than in the countries of the North contribute to the destruction of national producers; uncontrolled privatization and denationalization develop in the search for the resources demanded by investors.

Everywhere social rights are called into question. Where there are public retirement systems, workers are asked to replace them by a pension fund mechanism that subjects their own employers to the sole imperatives of immediate profitability, extends the sphere of influence of finance, and persuades citizens of the obsolescence of institutions of solidarity between nations, peoples, and generations. Deregulation affects the labor market as a whole, and the results include degradation of working conditions, the growth of workplace insecurity and unemployment, and the dismantling of systems of social protection.

Using economic development and job creation as a pretext, the major powers have not given up plans for a Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI) which would give the investors all the rights and leave national governments with all the responsibilities. Under the pressure of public opinion and mobilization of activists, they had to abandon plans to negotiate this agreement in the framework of the OECD, but discussions will resume in the framework of the World Trade Organization. At the same time the USA as well as the European Commission continue their free trade crusade, pushing for the creation of new zones of deregulation at the continental or intercontinental level (the PET project between Europe and North America, the extension of NAFTA into Latin America, etc.)

There is still time to put the brakes on most of these machines for creating inequalities between North and South as well as in the heart of the developed countries themselves. Too often, the argument of inevitability is reinforced by censorship of information about alternatives. Thus international financial institutions and the major media (whose owners are often beneficiaries of globalization) have been silent about the proposal of the American economist and Nobel Laureate James Tobin, to tax speculative transactions on currency markets. Even at the particularly low rate of 0.1%, the Tobin Tax would bring in close to $100 billion every year. Collected for the most part by industrialized countries, where the principal financial markets are located, this money co

Tom

Apr 13th, 2005 - 7:43 PM

Re: SDS mission statement, values, goals, ideas

I love the idea of SDS coming back. I would be glad to help out (although I am a professor, but I was a student once! lol).

If it matters let me make a few negative suggestions first:
1) Stop having bank advertisements. Get a real website free from the adds. You will get nothing but laughs if you say you are anti-capitalist exploitation and have a lending tree add beside it. I understand we operate in a capitalist framework, a structure that ultimately dictates how we can operate and our overall actions. It means to the right wing we will always be hypocrites because we have to have jobs, buy things, and increasingly use bank and credit cards because places won't take cash or checks.

2) As suggested from the previous posts, get the past leaders involved. They are older and wiser, and have learned several lessons. Learn from them so that you will not repeat there past mistakes.

Positive suggestions
1) A new Port Huron statement is a great idea
2) I think there should be both a general statement, and then perhaps stages or phases where you take on small topics or goals one at a time.
3) You keep the group on a need to know basis. This is not cointelpro, this is the time of "The Patriot Act" and you could become labeled Terrorists very easily.
4) Create small independent cells so there is a decentralized organization. If you have a few leaders, their arrests will mean the end of the group.
5) Force yourselves to be democratic. Seriously, fight against secretarianism, elitism, and autocratic leadership. Be as inclusive as possible.
6) If radical measures need to be taken, do them discreetly. Don't call negative attention to yourself.
7) Create infiltration units that can be used as support bases in case of political trouble.
8) Establish immediately training on how to deal with arrests, interrogation, legal actions, and other oppressive techniques
9) Have lawyers ready. Don't wait till the last minute. In fact start a lawyer fund right now.
10) Cooperate with other groups. Coalesce as much as possible. Try helping unconditionally all other groups. Never ask for anything return other than sincerity and solidarity. If people don't reciprocate don't hassle them. Not all people are ready to be revolutionary
11) Try to win the hearts and minds of the everyday people...remember we are technically part of the petite bourgeoisie. Perhaps Marx was wrong and the organic intellectual is the key to revolution.
12) Have a sense of humor. However, be prepared to back up statements with documented facts. Also be thoughtful and careful with what you say in public.
13) Don’t just focus on the youth. Many of them are part of the new brown shirts. There are large amounts of older people who are dissatisfied with the current regime.
13) Take classes on how to organize, how to sell a product, and how to be charismatic. Max Weber’s concepts on the qualities of leaders that the general public is willing to follow are extremely insightful.

Oh I have more suggestions. If people are interested please respond and we can figure out a way to get in touch.
Tom

	sds THIS IS NOT ANN ARBOR SDS! This group has not been active for several years, but SDS is alive and well in Ann Arbor. If you are interested, contact Kyle Taylor (ktaylora@umich.edu) for more information.
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