The Cascadia Department of Bioregion had a very pleasant meeting with representatives of the California National Party. It was great to be able to make introductions, share a bit about each others past histories and movement histories, and talk about pitfalls and strategies for success. It was interesting also to hear of their challenges with fallout regarding Russia and the various different groups working actively for an independent California, and how they are working together as a movement to overcome these hurtles.
While the Cascadia Department of Bioregion is not specifically interested in working through the US political framework to achieve its goals or working within a ‘national’ framework – it is dedicated to breaking down borders and systems that are arbitrary, negative and non-representative, while growing the autonomy and democratic institutions of every region, and injecting bioregionalism into a global framework as an immediate solution to long term and short term problems. It is our goal to seed an interconnected network of non-racist, positive, bioregional movements actively working and supporting each other, while each focusing on place based solutions.
We were pleasantly aligned on a range of principles, and look forward to continuing to build a stronger network and backbone for coordinating among North American sovereignty , social and independence movements, including California, Vermont, the North East, Indigenous First Nations and the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement.
For those unfamiliar, the California National Party draws its inspiration from the Scottish National Party, which advocates for the independence of Scotland from the United Kingdom. On January 6, 2016, the California Secretary of State’s office sent a memorandum to each of California’s 58 county Registration of Voters offices to inform them that they had “received formal notification from the California National Party of their intent to qualify” as a political party on December 7, 2015, and thereafter assigned the party a code designation of “CNP”.
They are united behind a platform of that serves all our people, with protection of rights, resources, wealth, and the natural environment. While their long-term goal is complete political independence for California, their immediate aims are to fight for full access to housing, healthcare, and political representation for all Californians.
Some of their core principles include:
Individual Rights and Social Responsibility
The rights, language, culture, and history of the individual must be respected and protected from intrusion by the state, as well as other individuals. All individuals have equal rights to choose how to live their own lives, and the social responsibility to accept the rights of all other individuals to do the same.
Building California
California politics should focus on improving the lives of Californians through infrastructure development, encouraging local economic growth, and protecting our land and people, instead of being ignored in favor of federal battles over which they have no effective voice.
Fact Based, Compassionate Policy
All public policy should be based on verifiable facts and evidence. Policy decisions should never be based in prejudice, to benefit special interests, or to support an ideological belief, whether conservative, liberal, or progressive. As important, all public policy will be based on caring for Californians as individuals as well as a society.
Prosperity for All Californians
California as a global economic power in technology, agriculture, and commerce can only continue with policies that foster economic growth, planning for the future rather than supporting a departing past. However, such growth must bring benefits to all Californians, with equal opportunities for all
Locally Focused Political Empowerment
In general, decisions should be made at the most local level possible to successfully solve the problem. While some issues require a national, or international, harmony of policy, many others are better left to representatives more directly accountable to local voters.
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