Worldview

Ever felt like your highest values – justice, equality, the common good – have somehow gone missing from mainstream political conversation in recent years?

Ever noticed that some core right-wing ideas have been repeated so often, on such a wide range of issues and for so long, that they’re starting to pass for “common sense” with a lot of people?**

If so, you’re not alone. People throughout Iowa and the country are tired of finding themselves trapped in an echo-chamber of right-wing ideas, where our voices and our values are not heard.

Introducing…

OUR COMMON VALUES

A multi-sector, statewide initiative to change the political conversation, facilitated by Iowa Citizen Action Network (ICAN)

Imagine for a moment what it would be like if, instead of right-wing ideas, we were constantly hearing core themes of our worldview (“we’re all in this together,” “with liberty and justice for all,” and “people before profits” are some of the recent suggestions for what these themes might be, but it’s up to everyone involved to decide what we use). What would happen if many different groups working on many different issues – ones seemingly unrelated to those you care about most deeply – were actively reinforcing every day the same themes that you emphasize in your own campaigns and messages? Imagine how the possibilities for real policy victories would change if our principles and values shaped the overall debate – if they were again seen as common sense, as the most basic American values.

** For example:

Government = “wasteful; always the problem, never part of the solution”;

Markets = “always the best solution, no matter what the problem”;

Poverty = “your own fault”;

The individual in society = “you’re on your own.”

ICAN is working with diverse groups throughout the state to put progressive values back where they belong: in the mainstream of political debate. The OUR COMMON VALUES process will have several stages, the first of which are summarized below:

January-April 2007 - Hour-long introductory workshops with all interested groups – exploring how the rightwing worldview works; discussion of what themes are most central to our values and worldview

May 2007 - Regional summits bringing together all the groups and individuals involved, to determine which 2-3 themes we will collectively focus on, and to strategize for putting them to use in messaging, campaigns, etc.

June-August 2007 - ICAN provides tools and trainings to help groups use these themes in messaging, campaigns, etc. (trainings will be geared to the specific issue(s) different organizations/groups/coalitions focus on)

September 2007 - Second round of regional day-long summits, sharing experiences of using the common values in messaging, campaigns, etc., and strategizing for putting them to use in the final push to the 2008 caucuses

October 2007-February 2008 - Continued support from ICAN, with tools and trainings tailored to the needs of different organizations/groups/coalitions

March 2008 - Third round of regional day-long summits, determining lessons learned from the process to this point, and deciding how we want to put our common values and worldview to use in the course of all our varied work in 2008

This project is not something ICAN’s name will be all over, not something we’ll be seeking media coverage of or taking to presidential candidates or elected officials. ICAN’s role will be to facilitate a collective, “behind the scenes” process involving diverse progressive groups, and to provide resources and support to the groups involved. OUR COMMON VALUES builds on three years of work ICAN has led with unions and organizations around the state, exploring the role of rightwing and progressive worldviews in setting the terms of political conversation.

While the caucus season and the many caucus projects being undertaken by progressive groups provide an excellent opportunity to see the impact of this work on common values – an opportunity to create a sort of “echo-chamber” of our own – and we hope to work with as many of the groups conducting caucus projects as we possibly can, the scope of OUR COMMON VALUES goes beyond the caucuses, including many groups working on local- and state-level issues unrelated to presidential politics, and extending long past January 2008. OUR COMMON VALUES is open to every organization, community group, union, church and individual in Iowa committed to building progressive power.

The first step is to set a time for ICAN Program Director Phillip Cryan to present a dynamic workshop to your group (your staff if you are an organization; your members if you are a community group, church or union) introducing OUR COMMON VALUES. These initial hour-long workshops explore how the right has established and promoted its worldview; and ask you to suggest bedrock themes that you think all our groups should amplify in our varied campaigns, caucus projects, and political struggles.

To set up a workshop, or to ask any questions about Our Common Values, contact Phillip Cryan of ICAN at (515) 708-2364 or pcryan@iowacan.org.