We, the undersigned, believe in the following core values:
- A belief in the dignity and humanity of all people.
- A recognition that all people are connected to each other and to our living planet.
- A belief in the rights of all people to fairly and freely participate in the democratic governing structures that impact their lives.
- A belief in the responsibility of government, markets, and a civil society that work to serve the wellbeing of people, including the right to health care, food, education, and shelter.
- A belief that it is untenable to enact policies that suppress opportunity.
- A belief in the rights of free expression under the protection of the government.
We, the undersigned, acknowledge that it is not enough to only state our values, we must also operationalize them. Below are some ways in which we will practice our core values.
- We support efforts that advance the creation of inclusive and safe environments, including giving financial, political, institutional, and social support.
- We commit to protecting and repairing the Earth from unalterable exploitation.
- We prioritize protection and attention to groups who have been historically targeted, marginalized, and excluded; to those who seek refuge; and to those who become targets of attack or hate under any political administration or institution.
- We refuse to legitimize politics and policies based on hate, racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, and expulsion, and we will resist all efforts to institutionalize them into policy, law, and culture.
- We will take action when local, regional, or federal government actors, private businesses, or social movements ignore or violate the values in this compact, through dialogue, petitioning, boycotts, and nonviolent civil activities.
- We support and defend the rights of free expression and a free media.
- We support the right of people to organize collectively in their places of work.
- We embrace a shared, pluralist approach with those who share these values, and we will work with all who practice them in a spirit of mutual trust and respect, regardless of political affiliation.
- We live by the tenet that a democracy requires consent and trust in order to work, and we will not consent to violations of the values stated in this compact.
Call to Action
We the undersigned, issue the following invitation to our political leaders, private and public agencies, communities, and all individuals who wish to show support for this compact through the following actions:
- We call upon those who embrace and commit to these values to sign this compact and work toward operationalizing its values.
- We call upon every person to hold themselves and our communities accountable to these values;
- We call upon our government officials, private businesses, and social leaders to embrace these values in public and private spaces and to actively defend these values;
- We call upon local, state, and federal actors to refuse cooperation with any government agencies that violate these norms;
- We call upon communities to discuss this compact with their neighbors, coworkers, and local neighborhoods in order to explore ways of putting these values into practice;
- We call upon all who believe in these values to display their support of this compact, including posting signs in public places, houses of faith, online, and in other media, to declare that all people are welcome and safe in our society no matter their political affiliation, religious beliefs, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical ability, place of origin, membership status, or any other identity or affiliation.
While this compact originates in the United States, we believe its values are global. We invite all people to join us in signing it, sharing it, and living it. We understand the values and practices in this list may not be comprehensive, so we invite all to take this as a base for creating an inclusive social compact for your own community, campaign, organization, school, house of worship, place of business, or any other effort that desires to operate based on these shared values. While we recognize there will be many different strategies to achieve our goals, the core values we hold are non-negotiable.
A plain text version of this Social Compact can be found here.
We the People
YES, I would like to sign onto this New Social Compact. Please type your name, title, and institutional affiliation or profession in the manner in which you would like for it to appear on the website.
We invite all who believe in this social compact to freely use any of the visual assets on this website to operationalize these shared values in your practices and actions. Please post what you will #CommitTo on social media as part of this #NewSocialCompact.