Why we must Urgently Build the Infrastructure for a New/Alternative Political Party that is Owned and Operated by the Next Generation of Young People?
- Sunny Sharma
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
By Sunny Sharma July 24, 2026
During the Revolutionary War there was an urgent need to exalt liberty and equality against tyranny; during the Civil War there was an urgent need to end the institution of slavery; during World War II there was an urgent need to legislate and shape public sentiment to defeat fascism; during the Civil Rights Era there was an urgent need to gain participatory freedom and justice on the road to the Beloved Community in order to approximate the American Dream for posterity; in the present era there is an urgent need to build a working class coalition for economic justice especially for the marginalized poor.
Every era of American history was characterized by a struggle to form a More Perfect Union in line with the Constitution in some ways that the American Founding Fathers predicted, but in many ways that they did not. It was future leaders who led the path towards greater democracy by proposing new and creative public policy that inspired millions from the top. Yet, it was always decades of organizing and centuries of intellectual imagination from the bottom before such ideals were even offered for enlightened leaders to serve on a plate against the systemic despotism imbedded in political tyranny, economic institutions, and social stigma embedded in the cultural norms of false community. Real public policy ideals founded upon the sometimes abstract and inspiring constitutional principles became proliferated in the conscience of Americans and the globe in every generation through diligent networking, mobilization, and organizing. The generation who led the way in all these struggles was the young.
Any leader or organizer began their journey as a curious intellectual or sporadic activist even if it was in very small ways like a term paper. The seeds for future development were typically planted many years before or they were embedded psychologically in particular revelatory experiences or hardships. What many leaders and teachers have come to understand in the modern era is that we don’t need any new heroes and teachers, we need responsible citizens who both protect democracy through eternal vigilance and abide by the principle that they serve each other as their brother’s and sister’s keeper in the best of times and the worst of times. This is the collective model of leadership whereby citizens protect and educate each other by preserving a network of mutual trust, respect, and most importantly the ability when needed so to organize against injustice on a dime. There are many who affirmed this mutual network of survival whether it was Dr. King, President Obama, Ella Baker, the spiritual leaders Osho and Krishnamurti, and especially this idea was sponsored by numerous young organizers.
The understanding that there must be a space for individuals to express and orient their capacity as citizen and proletariat (worker and laborer) to solve challenges as they arise is the basis for any successful organized movement. Individuals when joined together in common cause with others with similar grievances and demands have the capacity to solve any serious problem no matter the weight, gravity, and nature concerning what is in front of them. Leaders are not necessary for a movement when sufficient and targeted public pressure is available in large enough quantity. However, public pressure is a necessity when the constitutional system is non-functional. What is needed today more than anything else is strategic targeted public pressure led by the moral imagination of young people tired of the status quo. This can only be achieved through the construction of a political party that serves and advances the interests of young people. Essentially, this political party must not only be beholden to the next generation, it must frame issues in a manner that is elicits the greatest and most powerfully provocative response from older people of the need to assist them in their endeavors. This garnering of public sentiment can contribute tremendously to electing working class champions to office as well as leading to a larger organized social movement in the long term.
What are The Citizenship Party’s goals and how do we build the infrastructure of such a party in the long term? Any new political party no matter how weak is a direct challenge to the political establishment in Washington which has grown very comfortable with the two party duopoly system. The Citizenship Party seeks to train and advance abolitionist minded leaders around America to take money out of politics and inject morality instead. Reforming the electoral system will facilitate greater political engagement to create a moral society by following the egalitarian creed to foster economic justice and abiding by the ethical creed to abolish prisons and end the unhoused crisis (The actual 3 point platform is described in past blogs). Young people will be the next leaders who will vote so we must make space for them in positions of authority, power and leverage. They will be living in our communities and interacting with millions of public service employees so we need to create a just and safe society where everyone can be educated and given a second chance. Most importantly, young people will be buying houses and traveling/walking across cities so we need to make sure every commodity be that a person or a good/service is not commodified and is affordable.
Abolition sounds like destruction, but it is actually about strategically combatting injustice and creating institutions to accommodate those typically left out and forgotten. Abolitionist politics is needed now more than ever not just to end modern day slavery in our prison system, but to also give everyone housing in the richest country in the history of the earth. Achieving these goals, which will inevitably result in drastic revolutionary changes to society, is contingent upon the reformation of America’s broken electoral system which must be tackled if we want to see any real long lasting changes to the American political system.
Important Links
1. The Citizenship Party 3 Point Platform
2. Why my New Political Party is called the “Citizenship” Party?
3. Blog Website
Beginning July 13-14, 2026, my blog collection of essays and articles is dedicated to advancing the goals of my new political party The Citizenship Party characterized by “Enlightenment” ideals (Hence the name of my WordPress blog).
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