Charter
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© Joseph R. Myers 2002

We, the undersigned, considering the possibility of an imminent disintegration of the social, financial or political structure of America, have joined ourselves together before God to make preparations and to commit ourselves to guard the welfare of each other in selfless devotion, that as a group we may survive such a disaster and aid in rebuilding this nation, America, upon those Ideals set forth in our Constitution by its Founding Fathers.

THE GENERAL FEATURES of our plans will consist in the designation of a suitable area to assemble or possibly obtaining a parcel of land which may provide sustenance for ourselves and our families, in the preparing of ourselves with the means, the supplies and the knowledge to obtain sustenance from the land, and to make such commitment to a community constitution as will enable our group to function in a truly democratic fashion, its leaders being assigned the power to guide, direct and discipline as the welfare of the whole requires.

BEFORE MAKING SUCH preparations and commitment to each other, we recognize the need for an instrument which will state our common goals, and provide a constitution by which we may govern ourselves. It is our intention that this constitution shall have unlimited flexibility in its purpose of enabling its constituents to encounter those contingencies successfully that may be anticipated in the meeting of the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs of a small community of possibly fifty to two hundred fifty souls. It is intended to be inflexible in its commitment to the Ideals upon which the Constitution of the United States rests. In particular, this instrument is intended to guard the best interest of the majority, disallowing that any individual may impose or infringe upon the rights of others, or when representing a minority point of view, to hinder a united action of the whole community in its commitment to follow the orders of its chosen leader.

WHILE THE NEED for differences of an individual nature to be submerged for the greater good is affirmed, this instrument is yet intended to allow the full and free expression and interchange of thought, so that the leader of the community may always reflect the majority point of view, while at the same time, permitting full reign for expression for those forces within it that may alter such majority point of view, and thus its leadership, both easily and quickly.

SUCH IS TO BE the intention and guiding Spirit of this instrument, and so its letter shall be deemed subservient to this Spirit.

THE COMMUNITY being of such a small number of persons that each individual will be well known to his or her associates, certain rules must be set forth in order to assure cooperation that those constructive plans as needed are carried out and those elements of individual traits of human nature that may be hindrances to the welfare of the whole, with which all of us are striving to deal within ourselves, may be properly categorized, intelligently met with and recognized and controlled with justice and mercy, in firmness, with loving kindness, all in the Spirit of Unity, through a chosen leader of the community whose leadership and authority are accepted as Law to the individual but which itself is wholly subject to the consent of the community as a democratic organization, to wit:

• That such balloting will begin with an open meeting of all adult members of the community for nominations until such nominations are closed by a majority voice vote.
• That after such nominations are closed, by the same procedure, a time may be designated for discussion or a waiting period of several days established to allow candidates for the leadership to be questioned and to make known their position in issues before the community.
• That in recognition of the importance of family unity, each family shall agree to cast one vote, each individual adult having no family being allowed one-half vote.
• That any individual without family or any family unity may abstain from casting a vote.
• That the elected leader will have the right to make decisions with such authority as is accorded the commander of a military organization on the battlefield, in effect, acting as the single Mind for a Body consisting of the members of the community.
• That the right of the elected leader to retain his or her authority will be entirely suspended once each day for a period of one-half hour at break of day, at which time a gathering of the community or any portion of it may assemble to call for a new election of its leader, and if by voice vote a majority of the members of the community call for such an election, the authority of its leader will be entirely suspended until such an election has installed a new leader or re-affirmed loyalty to its present Chief. This is deemed a necessary provision to assure that the purposes of its leader shall remain sensitive to the will of the majority, the absence of a morning gathering being construed a vote of confidence by the community.
• That in recognition of the Ideals as embodied in the Constitution of the United States of America, which are affirmed by each member of this community and attested to by their signature on this document, any action by an individual which would set aside or infringe upon the rights of any other member will be considered a basis for whatever discipline is required to correct such abuses.
• That the number of individuals involved in this community being anticipated to range from twenty to fifty families, the elected leader may be assigned the authority of judge and jury in the hearing and dealing with differences among individuals, or he or she may select from among the group members those deemed most able as a committee, or as counselors, to hear complaints and recommend corrective measures to be carried out by the community. In whatever way the leader chooses to deal with differences among individuals, his or her actions shall express the will of the majority and reflect its point of view. To assure that such an action by the leader is a true reflection of the majority, the carrying out of disciplines that he or she may indicate will be delayed twenty-four hours.

THE FOREGOING covering the basis for the democratic leadership of this community of souls who seek by cooperation one with another to preserve the lives of themselves and their families that they might serve GOD in the earth through constructive lives, through the building of Noble Character within themselves and through generating for posterity those conditions which they, as individuals, believe the Constitution of the United States of America was intended to promote, propose to make the following preliminary preparations for the aforestated eventuality:

1. Obtain jointly a specific parcel of ground through pooling sufficient of their resources to purchase such a site as will lend itself to the activities which will furnish sustenance for the community, or, by legitimate means and with the full knowledge of all concerned parties with regard to purposes and intents of the group, obtain permission to examine a property suitable to designate as a site for the community gathering place in the event of the actual loss of law and order in America.
2. Plan for and jointly agree upon the quantity and nature of the supplies and foodstuffs, seeds, tools and other necessities deemed reasonable to be acquired, inventoried and stored, for properly insuring the success of the community in achieving its objectives.
3. Formulate specific plans for action and establish communication lines to coordinate such action as proposed if and when the aforesaid eventuality precipitates which forces America's population to return to the land for its sustenance.
4. Establish direct responsibility individually and specifically for the preliminary preparations to be carried out and for ascertaining that all members are informed of the status of such preparations with regard to all that has been set forth.

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, having duly considered the Ideals and purposes set forth in this Charter, do commit ourselves as of the date of our signing as individuals to participate without reservation to whatever the extent that carrying out preliminary preparations may demand of us in the said furnishing of those resources and services that may be required to provide our proportional share in order to accomplish the whole of the aforesaid plan of action. We further commit ourselves to holding all matters in this connection in utmost confidence as a precaution to protect the interests of our community.

FINALLY, WE AFFIRM that our belief in the Oneness of God and in the Unity of all Humankind is the underlying basis for choosing to join together to preserve that which we believe is precious beyond all measure, i.e., the gift of conscious Life in a physical body for ourselves and for our posterity in a land which holds the Ideals of Equality, Freedom and Justice for All as a birthright of its citizens, and has embodied these Ideals in its Constitution, namely, the United States of America!

THEREFORE, we do solemnly affix our signatures to this Charter for a Self Governing Democratic Community to Sustain Life through a Crisis in America on this Day of our Lord _____day, ______ ___, in the year of ______.