The Stop Fascism Action Network ( SFAN ) has been created to provide an open space for discussion, sharing of ideas and information, and connecting with one another to spark meaningful, effective action to protect democracy, human rights and freedom, and to stop the madness of corporate fascism which is emerging with frightening speed across the planet. It is time to stand. Please join us.

The aim of the SFAN is to hold a space where serious engagement with the issues surrounding democracy, freedom, human rights, and their threats from corporate fascism, can be addressed.

The issues are serious, and require from us an earnest and dedicated response, but we must make room also for lightness, humor, friendship and joy, or we will die of a dryness of the soul, and nothing worthwhile will be accomplished. As a very great and noble woman once said, "If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution."

For the SFAN to be most creative, empowering and inspiring of constructive action, it must be an open space, and a place of sharing, dialog and mutual respect. Ideological "correctness" is not required - in fact, rigid clinging to ideologies would hinder rather than help the discussion.

The challenge of our time, the threat to democracy, peace and justice, will take a strong united coalition built from the grassroots in order to be successfully met. It will require of us the ability to transcend our differences, and to find common ground and common purpose, despite our diversity - and in fact, our union will be stronger for our diversity. We need not agree on everything. We need only to agree on enough that we can work together to protect and to deepen democracy, freedom and human rights, and to defend these common values from their greatest threat today: the emergence of global corporate fascism. The challenge that confronts us transcends notions of right and left. It requires of us that we build bridges where none may have seemed possible. We need to get together on the basics - liberty, democracy, and our most fundamental of human rights. If we do not come together on the basics, we will lose these basic things we thought enshrined forever.

If we come together as Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, Liberals, Conservatives, Progressives and Radicals we can defeat these threats to human rights, freedom and democracy. All that is essential to our union is that we agree on two things: democracy is preferable to fascism, and democracy is now under attack. If we can recognize this most basic common ground, then we can form a union, a grassroots coalition, that is united across its great diversity on this one goal: the defense of democracy. If we can come together across the various lines of ideology, race, class, gender, geography, culture and religion, forming a united force rooted in this one shared value, and this one goal - to protect liberty, democracy and fundamental human rights - we can create the broadest, most powerful citizen's movement the world has seen. This is precisely what we need to do.

United we stand -- Divided we fall!

Written by J. Todd Ring -
Reprinted with his permission http://jtoddring.wordpress.com /