#461 | Mayte Alzugaray | Emphasize Fifth Principle

2023 Article II Amendment Idea Submissions Amendment Ideas
1

Submission 461
Mayte Alzugaray
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook (East Setauket, NY) 6232

What is your suggestion or idea?

The fifth principle has disappeared. It is mentioned under Justice in Section C-2.2 as “We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions.” That is not nearly emphatic enough. As I mentioned in a previous posting I do not know how I would rewrite the values to bring our full commitment to democracy as one of our principles. I find the new rewrite not as concise and organized as the 7 principles. I would add the 8th principle to the previous 7. I would keep one sentence per value or principle.

What is the reason for your amendment idea?

We must emphatically state that our congregations are committed to democracy. Democracy is under assault in our country and all over the world. Democracies die and their deaths invariably lead to oppression of masses of people by a few. The more voices we have engaged in our discussions the better we are, the closer we are to the truth, the less blind spots we have. Without democracy there can be no justice and no equity.

Have you discussed this idea with your congregation or other UUs?

I received a round of applause when I expressed these ideas at our Town Hall meeting to discuss the Proposed Article 2. Members of the congregation have been approaching me privately to thank me and to discuss the importance of democracy some more.

7 Likes
2

I agree with this.

It should also be made clear that democracy involves far more than simply voting. It also involves having a real choice when you vote (not just having a referendum vote as we will soon for the President of the UUA). It involves having a free press (not something like UU World which only publishes the party line and has done away with letters to the editor).

Democracy is also closely linked to the individual and their own voice. To the extent that the revisions center group identities and relationships, they are subtly illiberal and undemocratic.

4 Likes
3

“The UUA has become a textbook example of illiberal democracy, employing standard anti-democratic methods associated with countries such as Russia, Belarus, Turkey, and Hungary.”

How the Unitarian Universalist Association Became an Illiberal Democracy

1 Like