What Is YOUR Passion?

If you're reading this, chances are you really care about something in your world that needs improving through public policy formation, i.e. the political process. There are two components to the political process:

1. Material component: the nuts and bolts of the law, ordinance, rule, code, trade agreement, treaty, etc. The electoral process. The legislative process. The judicial process. The executive process. 
2. Cognitive component: what has to be in the brains of citizens for the political process to make sense. The cognitive component is that good idea and/or the moral message that inspires us to collaborate.

For example, if you are a Rotarian, you probably joined your local Rotary Club to exercise "Service Above Self" in one of Rotary's Areas of Focus. Rotary's Policy on Politics focuses on the cognitive component and prohibits Rotary Clubs from the material component. The Empathy Surplus Project and its member Caring Citizens' Congress is modeled after Rotary and advances core caring values and five caring ideas. Two of our founders are Rotarians: Chuck Watts and Anita Lewis. Although we are seeking Rotarian partnerships, you do not have to be a Rotarian to join. We, too, focus on the cognitive component, AND seek to affect the material component reframing our world of influence..

Whatever YOUR area of focus might be, consider the organizational infrastructure we have to offer to implement your policy direction.

Our Four Empathic Activities

We are a 501(c)4 organization focused on building an empathy surplus in our world through respect for and protection and promotion of human rights and human well-being. We are a neighborhood think-and-do media group, modeled after Rotary,committed to building trust for effective governance in our personal spheres of influence with Four Empathic Activities: 

• We will inwardly digest and use the values of empathy and responsibility for self and others in daily conversation “in order to form a more perfect Union.”

• We will invest in our peaceable public assemblies and weekly pledge “our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor” to strengthen compassion occupation and identify caring policy directions.

• We will implement our caring policy directions to fulfill our lives, secure our liberties and perfect our pursuit of happiness.

• We will invite our neighbors and public officials to join us for the sake of freedom and human dignity now and forever.

First, Be Our Guest for Awhile . . .

We gather every week, either physically from several venues, or virtually via BlueJeans. This link describes a typical gathering. 

We gather on Tuesdays:

• 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm -- Email one of our members by clicking on their names to be their guest.

In eight to 12 weeks your guest status ends and you either join us or not.

The Credentials Path to Delegate and Adjunct Membership

Effective governance is not something caring citizens can simply delegate to elected representatives. Caring citizens have a significant role in framing the debate into which we want our representatives to enter. Joining a Caring Citizens' Congress puts you into a community of practice focused on building an empathy surplus in your personal spheres of influence. Each step of the credentials process is mentored by one of our delegates to underscore the importance of collaboration. The steps are not necessarily in order.

1. Email your contact information to one of our members by clicking on their names to be their guest.
2. Establish one's $7 / month dues.
3. Establish one's Monthly Freedom Investment to our parent organization, Empathy Surplus Project.
4. Join FaceBook, Google+, and Twitter. Our work to build an empathy surplus is done with words and ideas that direct our actions. Social media helps us do our work. Adjunct membership seekers can skip joining Google+ and Twitter, as well as steps 5, 6, & 7.
5. Be interviewed with the Caring Citizen Freedom Survey on Healthcare Human Rights by a caring citizen delegate. The responses have been used in civil society testimony at the US State Department during their UPR, Universal Periodic Review. The UPR is a way that member states of the UN evaluate each other on their human rights record. Adjuncts can skip this.
6. Become a Caring Photo Petitioner. Adjuncts can skip this. 
7. Show proof of voter registration, preferably by requesting a walking list of your precinct from your board of elections. Residents of the United States, who are not citizens and legally residing in our country, are inducted as adjunct members, who have all the privileges of delegates except the vote.

Induction Ceremony

Once a caring citizen has completed the credentials path to delegate membership, s/he is inducted into the Caring Citizens' Congress and receives the following documents for their study.

1. Manual of Procedure
2. Caring Citizens’ Flashcards