Longmont Citzens for Justice and Democracy

Study Group

If you feel that this war is not just an isolated event, and want to learn more about the political context that has allowed it to happen, you may want to consider joining a study group about the rise of illegitimate corporate power and the loss of democracy.

Many of us "old timers" in LCJD met one another in just such a group, and decided that we needed to get active in light of our knowledge. We helped form LCJD with the intent to foster "open-minded critical thinking," (if you've ever read our mission statement), and to offer educational events to ourselves and the community at large.

We think now is a good time to encourage people to get together and study the root causes of war on people and the environment, and the context that is allowing for an unprecedented wealth gap in the US. (Did you know the top 1 percent of wealth owners in the US own almost 40 percent of all the assets, while the bottom 40 percent own just .2 percent? How many third world countries can you name that have a super wealthy ruling oligarchy, no middle class, rampant poverty AND any sort of functioning democracy?)

Study groups also help you meet your friends and neighbors who have come together in this movement to stop the war, and who are probably intensely interested in promoting community here in Longmont. It?s a good way to make friends with like-minded people, in other words.

There are two excellent curriculums that I know of. The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) at www.wilpf.orghas a ten week session that you can download from their site. Look for "Challenge Corporate Power, Assert the People?s Rights" You can browse the syllabus. This is the course that us "old timers"followed a couple years ago.

The other curriculum is new, and you can take a look at that at: http://www.citizenworks.org/corp/dg/main.php

When we had our study group, we met late every Sunday afternoon for about an hour to an hour and a half. The reading took about one extra hour, during the week. Often someone would bake treats for our get-togethers, and when the curriculum was over, we decided to continue as a group, studying other things.

If you're interested in joining a study group, let me know. Send me an e-mail Link to my email with your favorite time to meet per week, and a phone number. I'll keep track of interested people, and then try to find a "coordinator" to actually put some groups together (8-10 people per group is ideal).

Would you like to help me coordinate this? Please let me know.

Also, take a look at Stop the Corporate War on Democracy: Big Business Day 2003 at www.citizenworks.org.

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