YRUU is made of people!
2-point revelation: YRUU is an organization OF people, not an organization FOR people. What's the difference? An organization FOR people is one where the individuals have to comform to meet the structural demands, norms and purposes of the organization itself. Examples of organizations FOR people: schools, political parties, movie theaters, churches, other large public venues.
An organization OF people is one where the very mission, purpose and make up of the organization is driven by the group itself and bound to change therefore. Indeed, YRUU's very bylaws say this in Article II, Section 3:
We, acknowledging that long-range planning is crucial to the continued growth in YRUU, accept that every three years the Youth Council will re-evaluate the previously implemented short-range and long-range goals to ensure that they are in accordance with the YRUU Purposes and if the direction of YRUU changes that the YRUU Purposes themselves be re-evaluated.
So why is the UUA trying to run YRUU like it's an organization FOR people? Or better yet, why has YRUU fallen into this paradigm?
Structures are made of people. YRUU is made of people. Not a single person has ever gone through YRUU and benefited from it, they have benefited from the programming offerred by PEOPLE. They have benefited from the concrete and meaningful interactions they have had with PEOPLE. They have enjoyed the culture created by PEOPLE. They have grown with compassion and confidence given them by PEOPLE. Others who have not enjoyed YRUU have not enjoyed the culture/community or programming created by PEOPLE. It's all about people.
People are at the center of movement building. Grassroots organizing requires people. Moving anti-oppressively beyond the limitations of grassroots organizing requires intentional organization of people by people and with people, but not FOR people. People's movements are grown OF the people, changing however they need to in order to ultimately include all people. Governments are FOR people. They are for keeping people in order and keeping the status quo. Governments can never be OF the people for long because after a while they become the archivists and enforcers of what once was of the people but now is only to preserve social order FOR the people without the inclusion of the people.
YRUU is Young Religious Unitarian Universalists first and foremost. Young Unitarian Universalist PEOPLE who are spiritual and religious who have decided that the best and most effective ways to realize and manifest their spiritual values on earth is to work in six areas of growth: Leadership, Learning, Community Building, Social Action, Worship and Youth Adult Relations. All of this work is rooted in their profound belief in seven principles which have derived from six sources of spiritual thought. This is what YRUU is, PEOPLE who believe and people who believe in each other, spirituality, anti-racist and anti-oppressive social change, learning and growing together, group transformation and the desire to work for whole group inclusion.
So fuck the Association! Fuck the organization! None of that matters because they are made of people and people associate and organize with themselves!
An organization OF people is one where the very mission, purpose and make up of the organization is driven by the group itself and bound to change therefore. Indeed, YRUU's very bylaws say this in Article II, Section 3:
We, acknowledging that long-range planning is crucial to the continued growth in YRUU, accept that every three years the Youth Council will re-evaluate the previously implemented short-range and long-range goals to ensure that they are in accordance with the YRUU Purposes and if the direction of YRUU changes that the YRUU Purposes themselves be re-evaluated.
So why is the UUA trying to run YRUU like it's an organization FOR people? Or better yet, why has YRUU fallen into this paradigm?
Structures are made of people. YRUU is made of people. Not a single person has ever gone through YRUU and benefited from it, they have benefited from the programming offerred by PEOPLE. They have benefited from the concrete and meaningful interactions they have had with PEOPLE. They have enjoyed the culture created by PEOPLE. They have grown with compassion and confidence given them by PEOPLE. Others who have not enjoyed YRUU have not enjoyed the culture/community or programming created by PEOPLE. It's all about people.
People are at the center of movement building. Grassroots organizing requires people. Moving anti-oppressively beyond the limitations of grassroots organizing requires intentional organization of people by people and with people, but not FOR people. People's movements are grown OF the people, changing however they need to in order to ultimately include all people. Governments are FOR people. They are for keeping people in order and keeping the status quo. Governments can never be OF the people for long because after a while they become the archivists and enforcers of what once was of the people but now is only to preserve social order FOR the people without the inclusion of the people.
YRUU is Young Religious Unitarian Universalists first and foremost. Young Unitarian Universalist PEOPLE who are spiritual and religious who have decided that the best and most effective ways to realize and manifest their spiritual values on earth is to work in six areas of growth: Leadership, Learning, Community Building, Social Action, Worship and Youth Adult Relations. All of this work is rooted in their profound belief in seven principles which have derived from six sources of spiritual thought. This is what YRUU is, PEOPLE who believe and people who believe in each other, spirituality, anti-racist and anti-oppressive social change, learning and growing together, group transformation and the desire to work for whole group inclusion.
So fuck the Association! Fuck the organization! None of that matters because they are made of people and people associate and organize with themselves!