Related Declarations
The Declaration of Civic Independence is part of a broader body of civic work concerned with accountable power, constitutional self-government, human dignity, and the protection of life.
At present, Civic Independence is the public home of one declaration. Two related declarations are in development and will be published here in time.
Declaration of Independence from Unaccountable Power
A Civic Instrument Affirming Non-Violence, Constitutional Fidelity, and Democratic Accountability
This declaration is a broader civic statement of principle. It affirms a minimum standard by which power deserves trust: that power over human lives is legitimate only when exercised transparently, accountably, non-violently, and with the informed and ongoing consent of the people affected.
It is written to be usable across differences. It does not ask the reader to adopt a party, ideology, movement, or program. It asks only that the standards applied to others be applied to all power without exception—public and private, local and national, political and economic, technological and institutional.
It is offered as an act of conscience and a point of civic orientation. It does not authorize coercion, violence, or unlawful action. It exists to strengthen civic dignity, to make it easier to tell the truth, to refuse dehumanization, to insist upon accountability, and to rebuild trust where it has been eroded.
Status: In development for publication on this site.
The Declaration for Life on Earth
A declaration affirming the responsibility of humanity to protect the living Earth and the future of life
This declaration is a planetary civic affirmation of responsibility toward the living Earth.
It is not issued in the name of any nation, government, ideology, or institution. It is issued in the name of the common interest that unites all people: the preservation of the living Earth and the continuation of life.
It affirms that the fate of humanity is inseparable from the fate of the Earth, and that the preservation of life on Earth is among the highest responsibilities of humanity. It proceeds from first principles: that life precedes power, that life limits power, and that no authority is legitimate when it knowingly destroys the conditions necessary for life.
It is offered as a statement of conscience, a point of civic orientation, and an invitation to shared responsibility for the living world.
Status: In development for publication on this site.
How These Declarations Relate
These declarations address different layers of the same civic and moral crisis.
The Declaration of Independence from Unaccountable Power concerns the legitimacy of power itself: transparency, consent, accountability, non-violence, constitutional fidelity, and democratic responsibility.
The Declaration of Civic Independence addresses a specific and urgent expression of that problem: the subordination of U.S. policy to unaccountable foreign influence, unlawful war, and complicity in mass human suffering.
The Declaration for Life on Earth addresses the widest horizon of all: the preservation of the living Earth and the conditions necessary for life, upon which every society, every right, and every future depends.
Taken together, these declarations reflect a shared concern for accountable government, human dignity, democratic self-rule, non-violence, and the protection of life.