The 9-12 Project of Central PA

"You Are NOT Alone!"

I would first like to thank everyone, personally, for your participation in this movement. I had a chance to speak briefly at the last meeting about the fulfillment that I have received, just by knowing that there are other people in my community who care as deeply about our founding Principles as I do. This has been a cathartic moment in my life, to know that I am not alone in my beliefs and values. And for that, I am indebted to all of you.

Now I would like to pay-it-forward to others, so they to can find that we do, in fact, Surround Them. However, one thing that I'm having a hard time with is succinctly describing what, and more importantly, WHO we are.

To that vein, I think it would be very beneficial for us to develop a mission statement. I want to start this post to get everyone's ideas, and then we can distill it down into something concise and engaging. This is something that I hope we can put up for vote by our next meeting.

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As a start, this is from the http://www.the912project.com web page.


This is a non-political movement. The 9-12 Project is designed to bring us all back to the place we were on September 12, 2001. The day after America was attacked we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States or political parties. We were united as Americans, standing together to protect the greatest nation ever created.

That same feeling – that commitment to country is what we are hoping to foster with this idea. We want to get everyone thinking like it is September 12th, 2001 again.
"We want to get everyone thinking like it is September 12th, 2001 again." - John Callahan

Agreed. I think you have captured the very heart of how to move forward in this single statement.

It seems to me that there were 2 distinct themes brought out in the last meeting that support the 9-12 consciousness.

1. A desire to foster a community where an exchange of relevant ideas, practical skills workshops and member support are available to all.

2. A commitment to take a stand and be relevant on issues that support Beck's 9-12 Project such as the Tea Parties that are occurring.

Developing a charter and mission statement are crucial foundations that we need to develop into a cogent, workable format.

What do you think?
I'm just going to throw out some ideas.

We are a group that believes in the constitution as the founding forefathers wrote it and are concerned that it has been abandoned by our politicians and government officials.

We are a group that wants to rally together to show others that they are "NOT ALONE" in these concerns.

We formed a group because we want to share our concerns, come up with ideas, and in a productive way, add value to a national effort to get our country back to the basic principles it was founded on.
My mission in joining this group is to come together with like-minded people to create one loud voice and one active body for the purpose of defending and upholding the constitution and the principles and values upon which the constitution was founded.
Hey folks! Check out the new group I started specifically for this and other topics.
k
May I suggest a short and succinct Mission Statement that embraces broad principles? I'd rather see that than a lengthy, bureaucratic legal document that ties the group to a fixed set of behaviors, with no flexibility to adapt once we reach critical mass. When we are successful in becoming a moral and political force, we'll need a little wiggle room to reach broader audiences. In no way do I suggest compromising the core beliefs. But let's just state them, clearly, along with our goals as a group,
Yes, I did say moral and political force. We are trying to change people's attitudes and behavior through education and indignation, and eventually, the power of numbers.
That's politics.
We want to convince the majority of the public that the status quo is unacceptable and that we propose a better method of government.
That's politics.

Some thoughts for consideration, (and considerable editing.)
A government that is:
-Constitutionally based rather than Junior High popularity contest.
-Merit based rather than who's daddy has the most money.
-Fair and equal to all rather than prejudiced to the ultra-rich and the ultra-poor.
-Laws which reflect the value of community rather than the welfare state.
-A fair, uncomplicated, and unbiased tax code.
-And above all, the preeminence of the individual before the state.
How about something regarding individual responsibility? This touches on a number of issues from not buying a house you can't afford to emergency preparation in hurricane zones, etc.

There's no need for a strong central government to interfere with our daily lives when individuals stand up and take responsibility for their own success or failure. Imagine how different this nation would be if there weren't a constant struggle to see who can win the title of biggest victim?
Mission statement: A brief statement of the essence of an organization to the stakeholders and to the public. In our case it should serve to bind us together and guide us as well as to communicate to others what we are about. Therefore, our mission statement needs to be short enough for anyone to grasp quickly and even be easily memorized. However, while it should be brief, it must also be founded in unshakable principles; it should be the tip of our philosophical and moral iceberg.

A Proposed Mission Statement

Our mission is to unite Americans who share our principals and values in order to restore our constitutional republic, individual liberty, and fiscal responsibility.
Justification

To unite Americans – The mission statement begins with Americans, our fellow citizens, because it is absolutely fundamental to our success that we unite a large enough number of our fellow Americans to actually influence elections, legislation, and regulation. Thanks to the wisdom and foresight of our nation’s founders, we have the means to peacefully change our government, but to do so requires large numbers of voters. Expansive, “progressive” government has divided us into innumerable special interests, thus defeating cohesive voting on fundamental issues. It is essential that we overcome this and unite Americans in a non-divisive, nonpartisan manner based in our 9 principals and 12 values.

To restore our constitutional republic and individual liberty – The United States is a republic and not a democracy, and the difference is profoundly important, not just because we pledge allegiance to the republic, not just because the word democracy is nowhere to be found in our Constitution, but for crucial philosophical, moral, and practical reasons.

All forms of government can be characterized by one of two philosophies, collectivism and individualism. Historically, all governments have been collectivist, be they tribal, socialist, communist, a democracy, theocracy, or an oligarchy. In all cases, the interests of the collective overshadowed those of the individual and the rights of individuals were ephemeral, permitted or denied as the collective choose. Democracies are collectivist; they represent a form of mob rule, they tend to become communistic, and their laws are constantly in flux. Democracies are self-destructive and fail predictably.

The great exception to the collectivist governments was the American republic; a nation of fixed, rational law that subordinated the collective to the rights of the individual. Under America’s constitution, individual rights were recognized as natural, inalienable, and having preceded the law. Individual freedom and responsibility are the moral expression of this, and free-market capitalism is its economic system, the system which has brought the world unprecedented prosperity and quality of life.

Our enemies, the so-called progressives, continue to cling to collectivist ideas. They have worked tirelessly and effectively to turn back the clock, to reduce America to a collective, and to send mankind back to the dark ages by usurping our republic and replacing it with democracy. Our enemies have seized our schools, our colleges, and our news media, and, by this means, the minds of generations of Americans. They have managed to intellectually disarm their victims; they have confounded and confused them, causing them to doubt individualism and capitalism, to discard reason, and to doubt or discard the very principals and values that once made our nation great. However, the transformation of America from a nation of proud and strong individuals to subservient and dependant masses could not be complete so long as the concept of the republic and what it means stood as an intellectual and ideological impediment. For collectivists to succeed, the concept of a republic had to be eliminated because thinking men and women could never reconcile it with the progressive philosophy. The republic had to be eliminated and democracy was the collectivists’ ideological replacement.

Our fight is one of ideas. Therefore, we cannot save America if we allow our enemies to define the ideological battleground. We cannot save America if we allow our enemies to define the language, choose the words, and shape and limit the ideas. We cannot save America by compromising the truth because any compromise with individualism is collectivism just as any compromise with the truth is a lie. We cannot defeat the collectivists if we accept their ideas and words and perpetuate their lie that America is a collective, a democracy.

We can save America if we choose the battleground. We can save America if we define our battles with words of our choosing and ideas based in reason and truth. We can save America if we challenge the very foundation of the collectivists’ philosophy and its inherent immorality of sacrifice, immolation, and slavery. We can win if we demand our republic because of the principals and morality it embodies, if we embrace and defend individualism and the morality of life, summed up in the words, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

To restore … fiscal responsibility – The restoration of our constitutional republic implies a return to reason and thus a reversal of the current fiscal insanity. However, our constitution is currently crippled by the sixteenth and seventeenth amendments, the income tax and Federal Reserve. These regressive, collectivist mechanisms have enabled the current insanity and much of the past expansion of government. Therefore, it is important to give voice here specifically to the need for fiscal responsibility.
Walter Williams weighs in on the issue of Democracy. Walter is one of my heroes (I might be repeating myself here), and perhaps does a far better job of helping us understand democracy.

http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=5496
I think in an effort to learn about peoples strengths I propose a questionnaire when new people sign up. I am the webmaster for the PA Office of Rural Health, but I also have 13 years in finance. So where ever I can be useful let me know.
I took some of the ideas already posted here and some I recieved at our meeting and came up with what is posted below . . . feel free the chime in. When I think of a mission statement, I think of a broad general statement that inspires, defines and is written as if it is happening and has life . . . this is sort of all encompassing . . . it is the "Why" of the formation of our organization. The specificas can come as .. . goals . . . objectives or some other more suitable word. Just my two cents :-)


Lead by The Constitution of the United States and inspired by the 9/12 Project, We The People, together, as individuals, though peaceful organization, unite as equal Americans to insure our inalienable rights and freedoms are forever preserved. We gather together for the common good, holding Government accountable to We The People, assuring fiscal responsibility, preserving our nation's sovereigncy(sp?), respecting and honoring The Constitution of the United States and The Bill of Rights. We peacefully defend and protect our Republic. We like minded individuals, join together to forever preserve, the land of the free and the home of the brave! Amen
Ron, I too like your idea. This will give us a better handle of why you (generic) are here, who you are, what you are willing to offer to our group and any skills you may wish to share. I suggest you start another Forum and come up with questions. We could also then collect data such as name address, phone numbers, e-mails and etc. in a uniformed manner..

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