Corporations vs. Democracy, a long-term WILPF issue, is not “just another issue;” it is an overarching issue and root cause of the other issues which WILPF is addressing (and more). Large corporations -– particularly the military- industrial- media- contractor- privatized prison- agribusiness- developer-corporate-complex -- control government, and crank out abuses: armed aggression-related, health, economic, environmental, etc. ~ that We the People must cope with. Most issues will continue with whomever is in the Oval Office. Corporate Accountability International (formerly InFact, a Nestle boycott group), a ''grassroots corporate watchdog,'' is an organization which challenges this reality. Its mission statement says: “Today the air we breathe, the water we drink and our very democracy are under increasing threat from corporate abuses. .... We are building on our successful track record to strengthen democracy by limiting corporate interference in national and international policymaking so that ordinary people around the world can hold corporations accountable for their actions (emphasis added) and thereby put an end to irresponsible corporate behavior.” “Think Outside The Bottle” is a current CAI campaign which “encourages consumers to choose tap over bottled water and support the efforts of local elected officials to do the same at the city, state, and national level.” It played a major role in the July 2007 decision by Pepsico to change the label on their privatized, bottled public water, Aquafina, to more plainly state that it is public water ~ including our own precious Tucson water (although this is not stated, I believe). CAI reinforces WILPF's own Corporations vs Democracy Issue, the Water Campaign including privatized bottled public water, and our other issues, e.g., disarmament / DU / Keep Space for Peace, and whatever other issue(s) the branch may choose to focus on. Knowing about CAI can help empower WILPF-ers to link WILPF's overarching, general issue of Corporations vs Democracy with other specific issues (as does CAI), and to bring this to the attention of other local peace, justice and environment groups in order to do problem- solving together. Groups with certain shared ''affinities'' and related goals can support and magnify each other's work, for increased chances of progress. This is what the Community Action Plan (developed in conjunction with he WILPF spin-off group, Democracy Organizing Group to Abolish Corporate Personhood) was designed to help do; it engages us in a simple, organized 10-step process which links goals different groups have in common. The Community Action Plan is about both/and, rather than either/or. That is, it is about a) linking different peace, justice and environment groups which have related important issues, and b) linking the issues to a major root cause: corporate power and control over “The Commons:” the economy, the government, human and planetary rights, peace. Groups with related goals need to support and reinforce each other, rather than act only as stand-alone entities. Please proactively raise this concept with your acquaintances who are in other advocacy/activist-type groups ~ for all our benefit. Suggest that they attend a free Community Action Plan workshop and take the steps to linking and promoting our common goals, especially if they recognize that the military- industrial- media- etc.- corporate- complex is a threat to democracy. “We the People in WILPF Branches.” can start linking with other groups, to hold local corporations accountable for their actions. By working together in an organized way, we can perhaps influence our Mayor & Council to ''Think Outside the Bottle'' (or about some other urgent issue) ~ for starters! • For free Community Action Plan workshops, contact Joyce Smith: 888-8010 /joycetsmith1@aol.com. • For more information on Corporate Accountability International, see http://www.stopcorporateabuse. org/cms/. Credit also to Wikipedia for CAI details. |
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