Non-Governmental Organizations
Your contribution is not limited to simply working with the established government, either. One group of "politicians" that have been gaining steam in the last decade are Non-Governmental Organizations, known as NGO's. NGO's are anything from a local group of people trying to save the environment to an international organization of private citizens for animal rights. These groups provide a unique opportunity for you for two main reasons. First, they allow you to work within the area you find most interesting or pressing. Most of the organizations are specialized to fight just one of the world's problems. The second reason is that youths can relatively easily work for these organizations. Not only to many of them have specific youth chapters, but they employ youths as interns, which provides valuable experience for the future and allows you to help out a cause you believe in. Although there are countless NGO's to choose from, we here at You and YOUR Government wanted to share just a few with you right now. One organization, somewhat maligned in recent years is the American Civil Liberties Union known as the ACLU (http://www.aclu.org ). This group works for equal treatment of all racial, religious, ethnic, sexual, and gender groups in the United States. Internships are available. The Sierra Club (http://www.sierraclub.org ) is one of the strongest environmental protection agency in the United States. Moreover, many Sierra Club chapters hold meeting and sponsor clubs at high schools to increase student involvement and awareness. The issue of animal rights is hit head on by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, known as PETA (http://www.peta-online.org ). This group, as its name states, is concerned with medical and cosmetic testing being performed on innocent animals everyday. Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.org ) is dedicated to the improvement of human rights across the globe. This years slogan, "celebrate your rights by promoting others" is the epitome of what is group is all about. This year, they are attempting to have citizens, not nations, pledge their willingness to support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on its fiftieth anniversary. To help those physically in need, join the American Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org . This group attempts to help those who are ill or devastated by natural disasters such as the tornadoes in North Carolina. To help democratic institutions around the world, or to merely read up on how democracy is proceeding in other countries, check out the National Endowment for Democracy at http://www.ned.org . If none of these work for you, just keep your eyes open. If that does not help, you can start your own NGO. This type of action is happening all of the time. Personally, my parents and another couple from San Diego, California, found their own NGO to work for mathematics in reform in American schools. This group, known as Mathematically Correct, began as just a small collection of local parents, is now a nationally supported NGO that carries a big stick in educational reform. To check out how far they have come, or to do you part for education reform, visit their web site at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepage/index.htm .
Links:
American Civil Liberties Union: http://www.aclu.org
Sierra Club: http://www.sierraclub.org
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: http://www.peta-online.org
Amnesty International: http://www.amnesty.org
American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org
National Endowment for Democracy: http://www.ned.org
Mathematically Correct: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepage/index.htm