An Overview of the Green Party

In May of 1984, David Haenke convened a Green Movement Committee at which concerned the formation of a Green Party in America. He felt it was important to have a political party that put life in the center of decision making. Another larger meeting was held in St. Paul, Minnesota in August which became the founding of the U.S. Green Party. From August 10 to August 12, the meeting gathered activists from peace, ecology, and justice groups, veterans, farmers, community leaders, church activists, and teachers. The attendees agreed that the national information would be in St. Paul and considered various events, that would be manly education, for local, regional, and national gatherings. Originally called the Committee of Correspondence, The Green party adopted the name Green Party USA in 1991.

The Green Party operates on a set of rules called the Ten Key Values. The first value is grassroots democracy. This means getting the citizens more directly involved in decision making process creating a more direct democracy. Next is social justice and equal opportunity which means all people have the right to benefit from the government. Ecological wisdom is one of the most important to the Green party and it states that people are one with nature and we must preserve the ecological balance for future generations to enjoy. They also believe in the idea of non-violence; demilitarizing and eliminating weapons of mass destruction without being ignorant of other nations’ intentions. They also want to use a non-violent way of opposing practices and policies the US disagrees with. The Green Party believes in decentralization which keeps the rich from benefiting from a bureaucratic system and brings decision making down to a local level while protecting citizens’ civil rights. They believe in community based economics where income is restructured to  include things done outside of working like parenting, gardening and community service. They also believe in Feminism, Gender equality, and a respect for diversity making all people equal to one another. Lastly, they believe in Personal and Global responsibility and Future focus and Sustainability which shifts the focus of life from economic growth to the quality of life in order to preserve the planet for future generations.

Works Cited

"A Short History of the Green Party in the United States." Green Pages. N.p., 22 July 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2015. <http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=3515>.

"Four Pillars - 10 Key Values." Www.gp.org. Karen Young, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2015. <http://www.gp.org/four_pillars_10_kv>.