Envisioning a Democratic Economy

Envisioning a Democratic Economy

DATES: Thursday, August 27

TIME: 6:00 pm

ORGANIZATION: Silverton People for Peace

MORE INFO: http://spfp.2020oregon.net/

DESCRIPTION: Community Conversation with the Rural Organizing Project, the Silverton Grange, and Silverton People for Peace. Special thanks to Rolling Hills Bakery for hosting after-hours!

Why: Since the collapse of the economy, our local communities have been feeling the pain. Oregon’s high unemployment and cuts in public services are nothing new to rural Oregon, but with the crisis, things are more serious than ever. While the main actors in this debacle are huge corporations, it is we the people who are paying the price. But it is also we the people who can act now to turn this crisis around - both through local support for our neighbors in need and through collective action that delves deeper into the systems that created this crisis and dares to rebuild them in a way that is accountable to the needs of our communities.

How: Join with your neighbors for an open conversation facilitated by the Rural Organizing Project. We’ll talk about the economic collapse through a lens of shared values: community, human dignity, human rights, justice, sustainability and explore where that leads us. We'll discuss ideas that rural and small town communities across the state are exploring - from community kitchens and ride shares, to investing in local banks and credit unions, to tax fairness policies in Oregon that could fill the budget gap without cutting services.

Who: Anyone who is concerned about how we join together to survive this economic crisis, or who wants to see an economy fundamentally different from the one that is collapsing around us. This includes people of faith, gardeners, social service workers, youth, seniors, artists, low-income people, healthcare workers, union members, peace activists, immigrants, teachers, people who are concerned about sustainability, first timers and old timers who care about social justice and their community!

Facilitated by Rural Organizing Project (ROP), a grassroots organization that exists to advance democracy in rural and small town through autonomous human dignity groups. ROP was founded in 1992 and is based in Scappoose, Oregon, but works in all 36 of Oregon's counties with more than 60 local groups who are united in their support for democracy and human dignity of all people, but whose main concerns and activities range from economic justice and peace to immigration, LGBT rights, and gender justice.

Thursday, August 27th - 6:00 - 8:00pm
Silverton, OR
Rolling Hills Bakery - 106 N 1st Street
RSVP: Sherry Pollock, contact (503) 873-2906