Missoula Chapter of WILPF Inaugerates "We The People" Movement: Northern Rockies Progressive Voices

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Missoula Chapter of WILPF Inaugerates "We The People" Movement

Posted on Feb 11, 2010 by Jeannette Rankin Peace Center

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Message*	[b]Dear Mr. President, -[i]Yes We Can!!![/i][/b] Missoula Women for Peace and Justice are calling for a [b][i]We the People Movement for restoring "of the people, by the people, for the people.[/b][/i] As a chapter of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the longest standing peace group, promoting & working tirelessly for peace, freedom, justice, human rights (since 1915); we strive to uphold these principles. It is obvious that [b][i]we the people[/b][/i] need to be the ultimate check on our government since the Courts, Congress and the Executive branch no longer provide effective checks and balances. [b][i]WE the People[/b][/i], the first three and most important words in our Constitutions preamble, is a declaration to establish justice, democracy and rights. However, these are no longer foremost. To catalyze the [b][i]We the People Movement[/b][/i], the Missoula Women for Peace and Justice call on the power of all women for peace...the power of people and community. [b][i]We call on[/b][/i] the legacy of champions for peace, freedom, justice and rights who came before us. We look to Jeannette Rankin from Montana, first women elected to Congress and a founding member of WILPF. She said, "what one decides to do in crisis depends on one's philosophy of life, and that philosophy cannot be changed by an incident. If one hasn't any philosophy in crises, others make the decision." She stood strong against war and spent a lifetime working for human rights and justice. [b][i]We call on[/b][/i] other individuals and groups to join the Missoula Women for Peace and Justice in the [b][i]We the People Movement to restore the people's rights[/b][/i]. We know there are other women and other groups working on these same issues; we want to exchange ideas and collaborate on actions. We call for joint days of action, non violent civil disobedience, sit-in's, vigils, occupying free speech zones, engaging in letter writing campaigns/call in's, to the President and Congress. We will use the press/media; if mainstream media will not cover our actions we need to use independent media or be our own media. And as important to be effective we plan to have fun and be creative in getting messages out – using performances, poetry, music, art in public spaces. These are [b]the principles[/b] we see and want to work for:[list] []A World engaging in [b]peace as first recourse...[/b][/] []An end to Corporate Personhood/ Corporate Governance[/] [][b]Policies[/b] that address Climate Instability...[/] [][b]Representative[/b] government--restoring simple majority rule in Congress, an end to filibusters[/] [][b]Restoring[/b] people's rights[/] [][b]Health[/b] and Food Security as rights for all Humanity[/] [][b][i]We[/b][/i] understand the [b]interconnections[/b] between war/climate change/human rights/health/profit before people[/][/list] As Howard Zinn, political historian and activist said, "what matters most is not who is sitting in the White House, but 'who is sitting in' - and who is marching outside the White House, pushing for change." We will continue his legacy in writing the people's history of the United States. [b]There is strength in unity[/b]. We need to seek common ground and work collaboratively with people across the states(s), around the country...to encourage engagement across civil society. Please contact Missoula Women for Peace & Justice so we can be a very loud voice as we say, [b]Dear President Obama, [i]Yes We Can!!![/i][/b] [b]Join Us as [i]We the People[/i] become the Movement for true change [b]Contacts for Missoula Women for Peace & Justice (MWPJ)[/b] [i]We the People Movement[/i] coordinators: [/b] Connie Skousen, [email]connieskousen@yahoo.com [/email] Rita Jankowska-Bradley, [email]justpeace4all@yahoo.com[/email] 406.544.9026 MWPJ chair, Flo Chessin, [email]mslawomen4peace@yahoo.com[/email] P.O. Box 9325, Missoula, MT 59807-9325
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Dear Mr. President, -Yes We Can!!!

Missoula Women for Peace and Justice are calling for a We the People Movement for restoring "of the people, by the people, for the people. As a chapter of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the longest standing peace group, promoting & working tirelessly for peace, freedom, justice, human rights (since 1915); we strive to uphold these principles.

It is obvious that we the people need to be the ultimate check on our government since the Courts, Congress and the Executive branch no longer provide effective checks and balances. WE the People, the first three and most important words in our Constitutions preamble, is a declaration to establish justice, democracy and rights. However, these are no longer foremost.

To catalyze the We the People Movement, the Missoula Women for Peace and Justice call on the power of all women for peace...the power of people and community. We call on the legacy of champions for peace, freedom, justice and rights who came before us. We look to Jeannette Rankin from Montana, first women elected to Congress and a founding member of WILPF. She said, "what one decides to do in crisis depends on one's philosophy of life, and that philosophy cannot be changed by an incident. If one hasn't any philosophy in crises, others make the decision." She stood strong against war and spent a lifetime working for human rights and justice.

We call on other individuals and groups to join the Missoula Women for Peace and Justice in the We the People Movement to restore the people's rights. We know there are other women and other groups working on these same issues; we want to exchange ideas and collaborate on actions. We call for joint days of action, non violent civil disobedience, sit-in's, vigils, occupying free speech zones, engaging in letter writing campaigns/call in's, to the President and Congress. We will use the press/media; if mainstream media will not cover our actions we need to use independent media or be our own media. And as important to be effective we plan to have fun and be creative in getting messages out – using performances, poetry, music, art in public spaces.

These are the principles we see and want to work for:

A World engaging in peace as first recourse...
An end to Corporate Personhood/ Corporate Governance
Policies that address Climate Instability...

Representative government--restoring simple majority rule in Congress, an end to filibusters
Restoring people's rights
Health and Food Security as rights for all Humanity
We understand the interconnections between war/climate change/human rights/health/profit before people

As Howard Zinn, political historian and activist said, "what matters most is not who is sitting in the White House, but 'who is sitting in' - and who is marching outside the White House, pushing for change." We will continue his legacy in writing the people's history of the United States.

There is strength in unity. We need to seek common ground and work collaboratively with people across the states(s), around the country...to encourage engagement across civil society.

Please contact Missoula Women for Peace & Justice so we can be a very loud voice as we say, Dear President Obama, Yes We Can!!!

Join Us as We the People become the Movement for true change

Contacts for Missoula Women for Peace & Justice (MWPJ)
We the People Movement coordinators:
Connie Skousen, connieskousen@yahoo.com
Rita Jankowska-Bradley, justpeace4all@yahoo.com 406.544.9026
MWPJ chair, Flo Chessin, mslawomen4peace@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 9325, Missoula, MT 59807-9325

Tags: Corporate Accountability Democracy/Activism Environment/Warming Government Accountability wijpf Women & Feminism

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