Milwaukee SDS Platform. Students for a Democratic Society is an organization of students and other concerned citizens devoted to participatory democracy in all arenas of our lives. We believe that a truly democratic society must possess a number of characteristics, specifically: * That all members of society have their voices heard, and that those voices are considered equally. * That all members of society have equal access to information (and education) in order that they may make informed decisions for the benefit of society at large. * That all members and institutions of society be accountable to one another. Considering these principles to be vital for a free and democratic society, we find a number of violations all around us. 1. We believe that the international military posture of the United States is fundamentally flawed. The U.S. outspends every other government on the planet (combined) in order to maintain military bases around the globe, overthrow democratically elected governments, and develop weapons of mass destruction. We believe that the United States government pursues imperialist foreign policies which contradict the democratic ambitions of the American people and our brothers and sisters abroad. We believe that both Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden deserve swift justice for their crimes against humanity, but we also feel that as Americans, we should question why our tax dollars were used to fund, train, and otherwise support these men until only recently. 2. We believe that the ongoing war in Iraq is detrimental to the well-being of both the Iraqi people (over 655,000 of whom have been murdered in the process) and the global community as a whole. Our government's pursuit of this war is in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions and the founding principles of the United Nations. The U.S. invasion of Iraq has set a dangerous precedent for unprovoked aggression and torture, has reduced the ability of the United States to defend itself, and does not reflect the democratic will of the American people. The perpetrators of this aggression should be held accountable for their deliberate abuse of information - by way of impeachment, trial for war crimes, or both. 3. We believe that the structure of unrestrained corporate capitalism is unethical and undemocratic. Corporations are motivated by profits above all else. Unaccountable corporations - while achieving their monetary ends - destroy the environment, exploit workers, and deceive consumers. Contrary to the democratic principles of fairness, competition, and transparency, corporations maintain virtual monopolies at the expense of all but their investors. Furthermore, multinational corporations are the recipients of billions of dollars in tax exemptions and no-bid contracts from the U.S. government. 4. We oppose the efforts of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization to reduce "Third World" nations to a state of perpetual poverty and debt. These institutions violate the sovereignty of nations, discourage democratic participation, and extract natural resources vital to the development of local economies; they work to exploit the poorest people in the world for the benefit of the extremely wealthy. 5. We believe that environmental policy, on all levels, must pursue immediate sustainability. Contrary to well-funded propaganda, we believe that the citizens of our society are as willing to drive fuel efficient SUVs as any other kind. The opposition to sane environmental policy does not come from the citizenry, and business can not be allowed to externalize the cost of pollution any longer. 6. We stand in solidarity with all members of our global society whose voices are muted, whose concerns are marginalized, and whose basic human rights are violated, including: workers, women, people of color, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer communities, etc. We believe that equality and human rights are absolutely vital and must be fought for and defended locally (in the university and in the community), nationally, and globally. 7. We believe that the U.S. justice system is fundamentally biased and unbalanced. We believe the profit motive must be removed from the building of prisons and the maintenance of a large prison population. We believe that, as a society, we must choose to fund schools rather than prisons; we must distinguish violent from non-violent offenders; we must join the rest of the enlightened world and eliminate the death penalty. 8. We believe that the University should be a place of learning and that students should have a larger voice in the structuring of the institution. This includes both a student government and an administration held accountable by the student body. We believe that the transformation of universities into research facilities driven by profit and the corporatization of campuses violate the fundamental purpose of education. We will no longer stand by idly as the student government embezzles money, disregards the will of those they represent, and pursues an agenda which violates both the rights and the best interest of the students of this University.