The Lumberjack

Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: News

Don't be surprised if there's a knock on your door in the evening from now through November. Especially if you peer through the peep hole and witness a radical holding a clipboard. What do you mean radical? Well, someone who's willing to put time and effort into the political process. Pretty radical these days. The radical from Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County (DUHC) doesn't want to tell you how to think. They want to hear what you have to say!

DUHC's field director, John Zaglin, 27, said, "We're going to exercise our democratic right to go and talk to our neighbors."

DUHC is a nonprofit organization. Its members believe that through constitutional interpretations, the judicial system has granted corporations the same rights as citizens. This is known as corporate personhood. These rights, in turn, give corporations more power than any one person could muster, due to corporate resources. DUHC does not oppose corporations. They wish to give power to the people through direct democracy.

Starting Oct. 22, DUHC will be canvassing Eureka for six weeks. They will focus primarily on the first and fifth ward neighborhoods. The organization has purposely chosen low-income neighborhoods to help represent a population whose voice often goes unheard in the current system. The conversations they have will be an opportunity for DUHC to learn how to better serve the communities' democratic needs.

On Oct. 21, from 4 p.m. the organization held its volunteer training for the effort. Seventeen volunteers were instructed in methods of information gathering and active listening that encourages in-depth dialogue.

The training mainly consisted of role-playing. It started with simple greetings and progressed into some of the different initial responses citizens may give. After a certain comfort level was established, volunteers got down to the real work. This was going through the scenario of getting respondents to register to vote and answer a short seven questions.

After the open dialogue, citizens will be invited to a free showing of "The Corporation" on Nov. 8 at the Labor Temple in Eureka (located at 840 E Street). This is an award winning film that explains modern corporate power and how it was achieved.

HSU students were in attendance to help bring a democratic voice to the people of Eureka. Diego Cordero, 18, an undeclared HSU freshman said, "For all our good intentions and beliefs, democracy has been hijacked by the rich because the people put too much social value in money."

The students feel a sense of empowerment by working toward something positive in the local community. Juliet Thrapp, 22, a sociology major at HSU said, "We're seeds of change. Being part of a community dialogue is the only way we'll have a good democratic future."

If students are interested in volunteering, but missed the training, DUHC is offering informal training. They can be reached at (707) 269-0984.

DUHC plans on ensuring Eureka's democratic future by instituting specific standards in the training, which produces candid responses by citizens. The open dialogue during the canvas is an attempt to achieve these specific goals. DUHC hopes that with community participation these goals will be achieved.




DUHC's goals are:

1. To assess what issues are of concern to Eureka residents

2. To outreach to low income communities and people of color

3. To register new voters and encourage political participation

4. To learn about other local community organizing efforts DUHC may not be aware of

5. To give DUHC volunteers and members the opportunity to talk with fellow community members; to gain experience and skill

6. To grow the base of support for democracy in Eureka

7. To have fun.





"We need to be able to find out what's important to the community. That's the components of a direct democracy. We're going straight to the people to discuss the issues that affect their lives" said Zaglin.

A direct democracy is a governmental system in which each registered voter has a vote on major issues that affect the public. In the current system, a representative makes those decisions for the public. These representatives make up the legislative branch of the government. This type of system is not a true democracy, but a representative republic.

Through the conversation that will identify issues, DUHC hopes to be adequately represented as a useful community resource in the democratic process. This will only work if volunteers take their training to heart and work hard to understand citizens. Additionally, it is imperative that there is community engagement in answering the survey.

"The fact that we dump billions of pounds of pesticides into our environment shows we're not in a democracy. People don't voluntarily make decisions that endanger their health and environment. The decisions that affect our lives are made behind closed doors by corporate executives. This is not the country I want it to be. We have room for improvement" said Zaglin.

Matthew Kruse can be reached at mwk7@humboldt.edu

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