Application for membership in the U.S. Greens Abroad

(All information will be kept confidential. Minimally we need your name, postal mailing address or e-mail address, signature, and date; all other information is voluntary. You can return this form by either postal mail or e-mail.)

Name:

Address:

Phone:

E-mail:

1. Please list any areas of special interest and/or involvement:

2. For networking purposes please list any other relevant groups you support or are in contact with:

3. In which county and state were you last registered to vote?

4. Special skills or areas in which you could volunteer to help:

5. The Greens have two national parties. You may choose to be represented at the national level in either, neither, or both of these parties. Please check which national parties, if any, you would like to be affiliated with:

_____ I would like to be affiliated with the Greens/Green Party USA. Please enclose annual dues of $60.00 (6,000 yen in Japan); dues can be reduced or waived if necessary. The U.S. Greens Abroad maintains a caucus which has delegate status within the G/GPUSA. Through the caucus members can vote on candidates for national office and also propose planks for the G/GPUSA Platform. Members also receive copies of the newspaper Green Politix and the journal Synthesis/Regeneration.

_____ I would like to be affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. The GPUS has no organizational structure for representing Green party members living overseas; members must join Green parties in their home states. For specific information contact the Green Party of the United States, P.O. Box 57065, Washington, D.C. 20037 U.S.A. Tel. inside the U.S.: 1-866-41GREEN (toll free); outside the U.S.: 202-296-7755 (direct line). E-mail: <info@greenpartyus.org>. Web: <http://www.gpus.org>.

6. Please send me the following infosheets (please list numbers -- details on the reverse):

7. The U.S. Greens Abroad relies entirely on donations for it operational expenses. An annual donation of $10.00 (1,000 yen in Japan) is suggested, although not mandatory.

I certify that I am an American citizen over the age of 18 currently living outside of the United States (for a period of more than three months) and that I am in fundamental agreement with the Ten Key Values of the U.S. Greens: (1) ecological wisdom; (2) social justice; (3) grassroots democracy; (4) nonviolence; (5) decentralization; (6) community economics; (7) feminism; (8) respect for diversity; (9) personal and global responsibility; and (10) future focus. (No signature required for those who ask only to be put on the mailing list.)

Sign __________________________________________________________ Date _____________________

E-mail "signatures" are acceptable. Please make checks payable to "Richard Evanoff." Return to: Richard Evanoff (USGA), 1933-8 Hazama-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 193-0941 Japan. E-mail: <evanoff@sipeb.aoyama.ac.jp>.

INTRODUCING THE U.S. GREENS

THE CRISIS OF MODERN SOCIETY
Modern industrial society has failed to deliver on its promise to bring a better life to all. Instead, environmental conditions worsen, the gap between rich and poor widens, and our quality of life continues to deteriorate as many find it increasingly difficult to live healthy lives in clean environments and to find meaning and purpose in a consumeristic society that puts profits ahead of people. Democracy itself is in decline as more and more of the decisions which affect our daily lives are being made not by citizens themselves but by large, unaccountable multinational corporations and global institutions. Our political leaders no longer represent the majority but rather a small minority of wealthy and powerful elites. Neither of the two major American political parties are addressing the myriad problems created by our mindless pursuit of economic growth and overconsumption. They remain locked in an out-dated worldview which still thinks the world has unlimited resources and which measures "progress" by how much we produce and consume, regardless of the consequences to genuine human well-being and the health of the planet.

THE GREEN ALTERNATIVE
Greens are working to create a new society based not on uncontrolled growth but on sustainable economies. Not on unhealthy overconsumption that risks ecological and social collapse but on living high quality lives within the limits of nature. Not on centralized governments and corporations but on locally-run, human-scale institutions. Not on authoritarian, competitive values but on egalitarian, feminist, and cooperative values. Not on serving the greed of industry but on meeting the needs of all the earth's people. Not on the blind acceptance of all technology but on the ethical and considered use of human knowledge and wisdom. The Greens want to neither reform nor revolutionize the present system, but to transform it completely. We are a different kind of political party which goes beyond traditional ideological divides. In addition to helping Green candidates get elected to office, we also engage in a wide variety of activities intended to heal the earth, restore a sense of community in our relations with others, and improve and deepen our personal sense of responsibility to the world around us.

WHO ARE THE U.S. GREENS ABROAD?
The U.S. Greens Abroad (USGA) was formed in January 2000 to encourage American citizens living overseas to become actively involved with both the U.S. Greens and the worldwide Green movement. We support both the Greens/Green Party USA and the Green Party of the United States, which are legally registered political parties in the United States. We invite American citizens living in any country outside the U.S. to join us in our efforts to build a broad-based, grassroots-oriented political movement committed to the goal of creating an ecologically sustainable, socially just, and humanly satisfying society. We don't expect to change the world all at once, but with your support we can make a start!

INFORMATION ABOUT THE GREENS
The U.S. Greens Abroad have created a series of "infosheets" intended to explain our purposes and strategies in greater detail. Visit our website at <http://www.oocities.org/greensabroad/index.html> or ask for printed copies. We can also send you voter registration cards and information about how to vote absentee in your last state of residence, as well as information on how to join the U.S. Greens Abroad. In addition, we put out an informal newsletter which individuals can receive free of charge and with no obligation, whether they choose to join the U.S. Greens Abroad or not. If you have any further questions or comments please write to Richard Evanoff, 1933-8 Hazama-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 193-0941 Japan or e-mail <evanoff@sipeb.aoyama.ac.jp>. Since our aim is not so much to "represent" people as it is to provide a forum in which people can represent themselves, we sincerely welcome any feedback, positive or negative, that people want to give us.

WHAT'S ON THE INFOSHEETS?
The infosheets currently available include the following titles: (1) "Information about the U.S. Green Movement"; (2) "Information about the U.S. Greens Abroad"; (3) "Frequently Asked Questions about Joining the U.S. Greens Abroad"; (4) "Working Groups in the U.S. Greens Abroad"; (5) "Information about U.S. Green Organizations"; (6) "Information about the Greens/Green Party USA"; (7) "Information about the Green Party of the U.S."; (8) "Information about the Green Network"; (9) "Information about The Green Alliance"; (10) "Information about Green Electoral Work and Candidates"; (11) "Information about Green Publications and Books"; (12) "Green Networking Information"; (13) "Labor Unions for Foreigners in Japan"; (14) "Public Administration Services in Japan for Foreign Workers"; and (15) "How to Start a Local Chapter of the U.S. Greens Abroad."