The Humane Party publishes its platform every other year, on Platform Day (April 22), during years in which Congressional elections occur. HP’s Platform Day coincides with both Earth Day and the anniversary of the Humane Party’s launch (April 22, 2009). Celebrating the Humane Party’s birthday and publishing its most recent platform on Earth Day comports well with the organization’s values.
Here’s a quick introduction to some features of the Humane Party platform itself.
Platform structure and content generally. The Humane Party platform is more comprehensive, in both form and substance, than most political party platforms.
The first section of the HP platform sets forth general public policy, specific policy positions, and particular initiatives that the party is pursuing. Here are three examples from §1 of the platform:
- commitment to abolishing slavery in all its forms through the Abolition Amendment: as the U.S.’s leading vegan, abolitionist organization, the HP remains steadfast in its pursuit of animal rights, liberation, and personhood
- commitment to the Equal Rights Amendment 2: the HP continues to lead the movement for amending the U.S. Constitution to guarantee equal rights under the law, regardless of sex, gender, and choice of spouse or partner
- commitment to balanced state and federal budgets: the HP rejects the Democrat-Republicans’ profligate spending habits and maintains its commitment to fiscal responsibility
Policy content is common to virtually all party platforms and provides direct points of comparison between parties.
The second section of the HP platform sets forth high-level points of internal policy. This section comports with the practical wisdom in a popular maxim for change-makers: we must be the change we wish to see in the world. This idea—living in accordance with the values one espouses, leading by example—has informed the Humane Party’s internal policy since inception. Three examples from §2 of the platform are:
- requirements for board members, officers, and candidates: per the Humane Party Oath, team members serving in these roles must be vegan personally and abolitionist politically
- refusal to negotiate with slaveholders: team members do not coddle, legitimize, or bargain with the animal-exploitation industries; these industries must free their captives before any meaningful dialog can occur
- encouraging others to go vegan and abolitionist: team members seek to convey ethical practices and positions that anyone, regardless of party affiliation, can embrace
This material, much less common in platforms, sheds light on some of the traits that distinguish the Humane Party’s organizational character and culture from those of other parties.
The third section of the HP platform sets forth one-time resolutions which serve to place the HP in historical, social, political, legal, and philosophical context, recognizing the HP’s adopted “ancestors” and providing a more symbolic approach to the HP message. This section allows people to learn about the HP from a different angle. Here are three examples from §3 of the current platform:
- recognition of the Liberty Party: the Liberty Party (roughly 1840-48) played an important role in the U.S.’s proto-abolition movement and is adopted as a “political ancestor” of the HP
- recognition of prior publications: The Emancipator, The Liberator, and The North Star also played an important role in the U.S.’s proto-abolition movement and are such ancestors of The Humane Herald
- invitation to other parties: the Green Party’s environmental aims ultimately require veganism and abolitionism; similarly, the Libertarian Party’s pursuit of personal liberty necessarily requires granting such liberty to others; these parties are thus expressly invited to embrace these essential features of their own respective causes
This contextual and relational content, also much less common in platforms than policy content, helps readers understand more about how the HP fits into the U.S.’s political, legal, philosophical, and historical landscape.
Looking ahead. A political party platform is inherently a perpetual work-in-progress. In drafting prior iterations of the Humane Party platform, we have made occasional errors, and such errors will no doubt happen in the future. But world events have so far demonstrated the HP platform to be uniquely prescient, robust, insightful, and readily equipped with effective solutions to the biggest challenges the U.S. and the international community face today.
We hope to discuss in future articles some of the principles and methods that enabled the Humane Party to let U.S. voters see what an integrated, synergistic platform with optimal public and internal policy positions looks like, thus validating HP’s original web slogan: “America Now Has a Choice.” We’ll also pass along some of the practical lessons learned on the way so that other science- and ethics-based parties can benefit from HP’s hands-on experience.
In the meantime, activists who would like to help further refine the platform or otherwise be part of the Humane Party endeavor are invited to join the team. Many HP team members had never participated with a political party before the HP, since there had never been another party that they could support in good conscience. If that feeling sounds familiar to you, please don’t let a supposed “lack of experience” hold you back. All are welcome.
~ Shelley Harrison
The Humane Herald 