CALL FOR A THIRD CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

Introduction:

We, the People of the United States, recognizing a clear and present danger to our democracy, issue a call for a Third Continental Congress. The injustices done to the People over the past few years have demeaned, insulted and belittled the People who see little choice other than to call for such a Congress. Our attempts to correct these injustices have consistently been met with disdain and arrogance from the Administration, Congress and the Courts.

Our Declaration of Independence states:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

In spite of the continual rejection and contempt we have endured at the hand of our government, we have long continued our efforts to change or amend those laws that are harmful to the People. Our mistreatment has been a history of repeated injustice and injuries.

Whereas:*

1. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling "to speak candidly and truthfully to the People about weapons of mass destruction, about terrorism, and about the military budget and,"*

2. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling "to protect the basic principles of our Bill of Rights and indeed asserts that this destruction of our rights will make us safe and thus denying the right of dissent to those who disagree with its policies, and,"*

3. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to promote an equitable and fair justice system for all Americans. Rather our courts are accessible only to those with unlimited funds which allow corporations and the wealthy to delay and obscure the equal application of the law. Those without adequate means to access the justice system are served by overworked and underpaid public defenders or legal aid societies and,

4. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to prevent "an incredible national debt which has begun bankrupting state and local economies and jeopardizing the future of the next generation and,"*

5. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to prevent "the driving down of wages, the destruction of existing labor laws, veterans benefits and the end of social services by encouraging and promoting through obscure tax laws the outsourcing of our jobs and,"*

6. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to pursue an agenda which protects human rights and,

7. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to purge "the administration of corporate executives who run the departments which oversee their business and,"*

8. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to provide a method of healthcare for each and every American and,

9. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to respect "science and scientific research by claiming scientific validity for propositions antithetical to the research findings of real science and,"*

10. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to promote an agricultural policy which supports healthy foods and family-owned farms and "indeed even impoverishes and destroys farmers all over the world by promoting the development of large agri-businesses worldwide and,"*

11. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to "protect our natural habitats, our rivers, our streams, our oceans and our atmosphere. Indeed it has given free rein to industry to blow up mountains in the pursuit of profit and,"*

12. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to eliminate the immense influence of lobbyists to make our laws and,

13. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to "protect our Constitution and human rights, which has been placed in jeopardy by its response to the attack of 9/11 and,"*

14. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to promote a system of public education that is based on current research in the fields of education, brain research and psychology. It rather demands the use of inaccurate standardized tests which not only lack validity and reliability, but also consume an inordinate amount of teaching time. This promotes the practice of “teaching-to-the-test,” and,

15. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to protect the privacy rights of its citizens, often encouraging government agencies like the IRS to allow private corporations to traffic in our personal information and,

16. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to promote true election reform. It refuses to consider an alternative to the Electoral College or to consider alternative ways of electing our government officials such as direct voting and,

17. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to provide true tax reform to the middle class, instead choosing to give exorbitant tax breaks to the wealthy while at the same time raising taxes on the poor and middle-class, the results of which serve to destroy these classes of citizens and,

18. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to "protect the lives of our young people and Iraqi citizens. For it has acted with reckless disregard for the lives of America’s young people and Iraqi civilians by engaging in a pre-emptive war presumably to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, while at the same time abandoning the potential for a real international movement to stop the spread and use of nuclear weapons and,"*

19. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling to prevent the takeover of our public airwaves from moneyed and powerful corporate entities. The only public airways belonging to the People are PBS which is so under-funded that it is forced to beg like a pauper to varied corporate and public entities, the very same entities whose misdeeds are the mission of PBS to expose and,

20. Whereas the Government is unable or unwilling "to cooperate with the nations of the world. For it has created a new meaning of American arrogance by ignoring the countries of the world, refusing to sign international initiatives that do not rest control in the hands of the U.S."*

Be it hereby Resolved:

We, the People of the United Sates of America, call for a Third Continental Congress to be held at a time and date yet to be specified. The purpose of this Continental Congress will be to develop a set of guidelines and principles upon which the People can take further Action to redress their grievances and to determine what, if any, future Actions should take place.


THIRD CONTINENTAL CONGRESS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What is the agenda?

The agenda is not fixed at this point, I believe it will most likely be determined by the delegates present. It will consist of a series of decisions regarding next steps to be taken. Probably protocol will follow Robert’s Rules. A series of committees will be formed that will meet after the Continental Congress over the next several weeks and months.

How long will the Continental Congress meet?

I can’t afford to take up to a year or more like they did in the first two Continental Congresses.

The initial Congress will meet probably for about one or two weeks. Your vacation is a small price to pay considering the stakes. Our ancestors sacrificed much more than that. There will probably be committee meetings periodically over the next several months maybe over the Internet with an annual (?) meeting for reports and planning actions again to be taken over the following several weeks and months. This is a long term process.

Who are the delegates?

There will be two delegates and an alternate from each of the States. These will be chosen from the people at-large. They will consist of small business owners, shopkeepers, teachers, factory workers, etc. They will be chosen from cities and towns by interested citizens acting on their own without input from governmental agencies.

What is the legal status of this Continental Congress?

The third Continental Congress is perfectly legal. The First Amendment gives citizens the right to assemble peacefully and the right to petition their government.

What authority does the third congress have?

The sovereign authority of the people. We do not need the government’s permission to peaceably assemble. The government works for us.

What role will our state and federal governments play?

In a word: None. To allow federal and state legislators and government officials to participate will be to weaken the core constituency

Aren’t these problems just a result of the presidency of George Bush? What happens when he leaves office?

When George Bush leaves office, nothing will change. This man did not cause our quagmire. It is the result of a system run amok. This is a system's problem, not the personnel problem of George W. Bush, although he did accelerate our downfall.

* Many of the points listed in this section are courtesy of www.beyondvoting.org