Powerful corporate interests continue to work hard to undo the progress that the people have made in reforming the practice of democracy in the United States. While general global trends toward democracy leave some room for optimism (as do the first few Executive Orders to come from the new administration in the White House), the ruling elites have been quietly working to build a global order that would allow them to exploit people and resources wherever they identify potential profit. The machinations of these private interests have lead some researchers to conclude that we on the verge of witnessing the death of the Republic in the United States. Meanwhile, much of the public forum has divided itself into two political camps (Right and Righter) and, rather than trying to solve the problems everyone faces, they hurl insults at each other and expend untold amounts of effort and energy sabotaging one-another’s ‘public image’. While the corporate media absorbs our attention by forcing these squabbles on the U.S. public and conflating them with sensationalized reports of crime and terror that serve only to heighten our paranoia and distrust of one-another, our elected leaders are quietly making important decisions (often very poor decisions that favor economic interests at the cost of the people) based on the will of the corporate elite without any input, oversight or feedback from the people that these elected officials are purportedly serving.

If we are to halt this progress toward corporate rule, then we must do more than complain about what is wrong with the system. We must be willing to take the time to personally involve ourselves in efforts to replace the broken parts of our democracy with a system that truly is of, by and for the people. Our opponents may have the wealth, the media, the power and the privilege, but we have something even better. We have the power to organize into a movement strong enough to withstand any assault by the establishment, and we have the will to do it.

We believe that the generation presently ruling the Western world has foolishly mistaken our silent frustration for genuine apathy and complacence, and that they honestly believe that cynicism has crushed our hope for a better world. If they cared to take a closer look, they might see what we see: an angry generation on the verge of consolidating multiple factions into a single movement dedicated to the establishment of global justice and human dignity. The elite rightly fear such a movement, because the hierarchy of corporate and commercial interests that dictate Western political policy will be the first wall to be obliterated by this inevitable force. We also believe that the overwhelming support expressed for President Obama and the enthusiasm with which his first three Executive Orders were met are an indication that the people are ready to engage the political establishment in a serious dialogue. This brief course is simply a modest attempt to help sustain some of the momentum behind this movement by helping citizens deliver their concerns to our elected officials, particularly those in legislative offices. In designing this course, we have sought to provide you with some basic tools to help you reform the democratic process in the U.S.

  

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