Draft GPUS Platform Amendment Preamble

The U.S. Green Party was founded on the four pillars of democracy, social justice, sustainable ecology and sustainable economics. We are part of a global network of XX Green parties around the globe that share these values - the broadest such political alliance in the world.

Although we are often regarded as primarily concerned with environmental issues, our interest in ecology includes not just the relationships between parts of the natural world, but those between people and their government, workers and their employers, the urban and the rural, the living and the yet unborn, the paid and the unpaid, as well as ones between those of different continents, countries, genders, ages, interests, and religions.

The word eco comes from the Greek word 'house.' We seek to share our house - the earth - fairly, wisely and pleasantly with ever other person, creature and natural substance in it.

We seek to be good stewards of our earth, good citizens of our country, good members of our communities, and good neighbors of those who live in these places with us.

We seek a cooperative commonwealth based on decency before profit, liberty before sterile order, justice before efficiency, happiness before uniformity, families before systems, communities before corporations, and people before institutions.

We believe that:

- We should tread gently upon the earth and leave it in better condition than we found it.

- The physical and cultural variety of human beings is a gift and not a threat. We are glad that the world includes many who are different from ourselves by nature, principle, inclination or faith

- We must protect the right of others to disagree with us so we shall be free to speak our own minds.

- Our national economic goal is the self-sufficiency, well-being and stability of our communities and those living in them.

- Ecological principles should determine economic policies and not vice versa.

- The first source of expertise is the wisdom of the people.

- Individuals possess fundamental rights that are inalienable and not contingent on responsibilities assigned by the state. These rights are to be restrained only by a due concern for the health, safety, and liberty of others and are not to be made subservient to the arbitrary and capricious dictates of the government.

- Citizens should participate as directly as possible in our democracy

- Power should be devolved to the lowest practical level.

- The Bill of Rights and other constitutional provisions have deep permanence and are not to be manipulated or abridged for political gain.

- Politics dependent on corporate financing and lobbyist influence is corrupt, anti-democratic and unacceptable.

- Simplicity, conservation, and recycling should be central to our economy, our politics and our lives.

- Individual privacy is paramount and not to be subservient to the needs of the state.

- Individual rights are manifestly superior to any to be granted corporations.

- Our elected officials are representatives, not rulers.

- We need more community more than we need more things.

- We are citizens and not merely taxpayers.

- We own our government and are not merely its consumers.