Banner No. 3 — Human Sovereignty: Taking Back What Was Always Ours
We were never meant to be ruled by billionaires, or fascists, or algorithms, or theocrats. Human Sovereignty is the name of the fight—and the future.
Written by Lawrence Winnerman
Somewhere along the way, we stopped believing we had a say.
We started treating democracy like a product instead of a process. Something you vote for every four years, like buying a new phone. If it breaks, oh well—wait for the next release cycle. But democracy isn’t a product. It’s a practice. And it's failing because we’ve stopped practicing.
The idea behind Human Sovereignty isn’t complicated. It’s this:
Every human being has a right to agency, dignity, safety, and choice. Those rights are non-negotiable. They are not granted by governments, corporations, churches, or platforms. They are inherent. And when those institutions forget their place, it is our sovereign duty to remind them.
That’s it. That’s the whole damn idea. But it has profound consequences. Because if you believe in Human Sovereignty, then you have to believe in action. You have to believe in saying no. You have to believe in resistance, even when the people you’re resisting tell you they’re on your side.
This isn’t a party. This isn’t a brand. It’s a line in the sand.
And I’m drawing it now.
Why Now?
Because we’re running out of time.
Authoritarianism isn’t creeping anymore—it’s sprinting. The courts are rigged. Women are being stripped of reproductive rights. Trans people are being legislated out of public life. Workers are ground into dust while CEOs buy their fifth yachts. Billionaire-funded think tanks are dismantling civil rights faster than you can say “originalist.” Meanwhile, our planet is literally on fire.
And still—still—people tell us to wait. To compromise. To play nice. To hold our noses and vote. To be grateful for whatever crumbs of justice fall from the high table of power.
Fuck that.
Human Sovereignty is about flipping the table.
It’s about remembering that power is supposed to flow from the people—not at them. It’s about standing up and saying: You don’t own me. You don’t speak for me. You don’t get to decide who matters and who doesn’t.
What It Is (and What It Isn’t)
This isn’t a political party (though it could be, eventually).
It’s a framework for resistance.
It’s a language for reclaiming agency.
It’s a movement for those of us who are tired of asking nicely.
And it’s built on six clear, non-negotiable pillars. Each one a refusal. Each one a vision.
Over the next several articles, I’ll dive deep into each one. But for now, here’s the overview.
The Six Pillars of Human Sovereignty
1. Bodily Autonomy
Your body. Your choice. Full stop.
This isn’t just about abortion, though yes—especially about abortion. This is about reproductive freedom, gender-affirming care, the right to refuse medical treatment, and the right to access it. It’s about the freedom to not be surveilled, sterilized, regulated, or erased.
If the state controls your body, you are not free.
I’ll go even further—if the state controls your information body, your online life and digital footprint, you are also not free.
2. Information Integrity
Democracy dies in distortion.
We are drowning in lies—manufactured, algorithmically boosted, and bought by the highest bidder. HS demands radical transparency: in media, in algorithms, in political funding, in AI. Because consent means nothing if it’s manipulated.
Without truth, there is no trust. Without trust, there is no democracy.
3. Economic Democracy
Capitalism without guardrails is just feudalism with branding.
We cannot be sovereign in a system where 0.1% of people control 90% of resources. Where work doesn’t pay, housing isn’t affordable, and healthcare bankrupts you. HS demands fair wages, corporate accountability, cooperative ownership, and a system where we decide how the economy works—not the billionaires.
We want freedom. Not just the freedom to starve more slowly.
4. Constitutional Renewal
The system is not broken. It’s working exactly as designed—to serve the few at the expense of the many.
HS is about reasserting balance: checks on executive power, term limits for judges, the end of dark money, and meaningful pathways for structural reform. This is about modernizing the machinery of democracy before it runs us over completely.
We don’t want to burn it down. We want to rebuild it—with justice as the blueprint.
5. Environmental Stewardship
This planet is not a commodity. It’s our only home.
Human Sovereignty recognizes the rights of nature, the urgency of climate justice, and the absolute obligation to stop trading survival for quarterly profits. We reject the idea that pollution is just the cost of doing business.
You cannot be sovereign on a dying planet.
6. Collective Consent
We do not live under divine rule. Not from kings, CEOs, or AIs.
Every policy, every institution, every rule must be grounded in the explicit, ongoing consent of the people it affects. HS is about participatory government. Real transparency. Community-based decision-making. If it’s not by us and for us, it’s against us.
We are not passengers. We are the crew.
What Comes Next
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be breaking each of these pillars down in detail. We’ll look at:
What it means
Why it matters
What’s happening right now
And what we can do about it
Because this isn’t just philosophy. It’s strategy. It’s real. It’s right now. And it needs all of us.
If you’ve felt like you don’t belong in this current political binary…
If you’ve felt like your rights are being chipped away while people tell you to be patient…
If you’ve felt like screaming, organizing, voting, building, creating, and burning it all down at the same time…
You’re in the right place.
A Final Word
Human Sovereignty is not about purity or perfection. It’s about solidarity. It’s about showing up for one another, especially when it’s uncomfortable. Especially when the stakes are high. Especially when they want us to shut up and go back to sleep.
Well, too late.
We’re awake now.
And we’re not asking permission anymore.
Subscribe if you’re ready to dig into each pillar. Comment if you’ve got questions or ideas. Share if you’re done being quiet.
Power concedes nothing without a demand.
This is our demand, and we will never be silent again.
Banner & Backbone is dedicated to centering the conversation in US politics on fundamentals: the Constitution, the people, and the government that serves them both.
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Well written..bravo!