Local Independent Press / Citizen Journalism:


- By Bahram Maskanian

Journalism is a highly misunderstood profession.  Journalism is not supposed to be reporting distractions and the obvious.  Rather, journalism is an immense social responsibility, an honorable profession, and a powerful democratic instrument for preserving and protecting democratic principles and values.  Journalism is the protective shield and informative body absolutely necessary to protect the public by informing the people of the conducts of their government and the ruling elites.  An authentic journalism are those who investigate, discover and reveal the truth, informing people of what the ruling elites and government doesn't want the public to know.

Journalists are the guardians of democracy.

Local independent press / citizen journalism must be free from foreign, religion and all other none-democratic influences, funded by the taxpaying public and its membership.  All of the news gathering and reporting organizations must be non-profit, co-operatives, owned and operated by the local people of the region and the employees of the organization.

Student Unions:


- By Bahram Maskanian

Student Union charter should be designed and written to encourage growth in awareness, knowledge, physical, emotional and mental health of the students on campus, community and country.  Insuring advancement and academic success of all students.  Promoting civic education, peace, democratic rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of press, freedom of association and freedom of religion.  Deconstructing all negative stereotype images and characteristics surrounding: women, human sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity, ethnicity, political beliefs, religion, occupation, disability, age, education, language, appearance, and culture.

The Student Union charter must be based on reason, common sense principles and ethical standards.  Committed to the safety of each student member, with zero tolerance toward discrimination against anyone, in any form, protecting all members and affiliates.  Teaching nonviolent peaceful means of conflict resolution, encouraging all students to be open minded, learn their true history, participate in traditional and non-traditional activities in their community and society.  Get involved in the creation of multicultural environment and establish democratic rules devoted to upholding these democratic values.

Labor Unions:


- By Bahram Maskanian

A universal labor union platform should be designed and written based on reason, common sense principles and ethical standards, encompassing all professional and freelance labor forces, ensuring worker’s safety, pension, health, fair living wages, worker’s rights to strike, collective bargaining and assembly.  Educating and training future labor practitioners and labor union activists, individuals who aspire to leadership in their unions, communities and workplaces and those who wish to explore careers in labor, or related fields.

A universal labor union platform must address and resolve the age-old conflict between labor and capital.  Establishing a clear understanding that the relationship between labor and capital are symbiotic.  And developing a general well-being and productive policy between labor and capital, while encouraging a harmonious cooperative partnership between workers and investors.

Civic Education:

- By Bahram Maskanian

Civic education is the cultivation of the virtues, knowledge, and the necessary skill set for encouraging social, economic and political involvement.  Civic education teaches the crucial and required skills and knowledge of political awareness and participation.  Civic education seeks to instill in the country’s youth the sense of compassion, connection, unity, association and understanding of the day-to-day political, social and economic undertaking of their country.  Civic education is no small, or minor endeavor, but absolutely necessary for any democratic movement to take shape, mature, succeed and last.

 

Civic education must be a required curriculum beginning in high schools and continuing in colleges to prepare people, especially the young, to understand and carry out their roles as citizens.  Civic education is the combination of: learning how to build a union, how to gain broader exposure of social contract and social responsibility; justice, compassion, love, reason, common sense, ethics, unity, peace, democratic rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of press, freedom of association, freedom of religion and how to invoke, mobilize, and galvanize the public, how to develop an informative and easy to understand reading materials; discussing grassroots organization issues and development, activism and participation for local distribution within one’s neighborhood, community and society at large.

Association, Unity and Compassion:
Citizens are mostly unaware of their immense power.  Citizens individually feel cornered and powerless.  Citizens do not anticipate the strength they will acquire by joining together in unity.  Citizens are unaware of many great achievements made due to the principles and strength of association and unity.  The power and the feeling of unity must be revealed to the public in order to be understood.  The experience and the impact of association and unity on important affairs practically teaches the citizens that it is in their own best interest to help one another and stay united to face future challenges.  Therefore social unity and association shall be seen as a large free civic training school, where all the members of the community come together to learn the facts about unity and association in practice.

The fracturing principles of “Divide & Conquer” strategy imposed by the ruling tyrannical regimes had negative discouraging effects on the public.  Social, economic and political participation, especially in social justice activity and political action, helps to dissolve the Divide & Conquer aftermath, and contributes to the development of high desire among the public for unity and association.  Public’s desire for association leads to neighbor’s participation in varied circumstances to promote the general welfare of one another and the creation of a social contract.  Once the binding first step is taken by the neighborhood residents, consequently they are going to learn the wonderful feelings and the protective powers of association, unity and compassion, there would be no stopping them.