(They Got the Guns, but) We Got the Numbers is a digital home for folks who want to change the current national and world political and economic system from one that doesn’t meet most people’s needs to one that does. We realize that, as Audre Lord once said, “The tools that created the master’s house aren’t gonna dismantle it,” so rather than wait for Congress or the president or the UN to do something, we’re going take action — together — on our own. Nonviolent action (except in self-defense) that will be powerful because of our numbers.

Many of us believe that voting in the current American two-party system — at least in national elections — only encourages more of what we don’t want. This is why some of us withhold our votes (approval of the system), our tax money whenever possible, and our bodies — we don’t enlist in the armed forces or work as police officers or other supporters of the current regime. Some of us engage in civil disobedience; others believe that most demonstrations are ignored by the press and powers-that-be and refuse to risk arrest by a government whose authority they view as illegitimate. We can also refuse to support distant corporations with our consumer dollars by shopping locally and growing, making, and sharing our own.

If these stands are too radical for you, but you still want to take action for change, do what you think will work and tell us about it. Anyone seriously engaged with the problems facing our country and our planet is welcome on this site. Please use We Got the Numbers as a constructive discussion forum in which we support each other in increasing our understanding of these problems and support each other for the actions we take if at all possible. Along these lines, let’s be respectful and compassionate with each other, and avoid the kind of hair-splitting arguments and personal attacks that have made left groups and political parties ineffective for so long.

Focusing above all on the young and innocent ones we’re doing this for, let’s create a new culture of sharing, cooperation, material simplicity, and spiritual and creative richness and diversity…a new way of doing things where power remains with the individual and local groups and communities. “Power with,” as Starhawk says, rather than the “power over” we’ve known for so long.

In solidarity,

First-time blogger and website creator, Maggie S.