Direct Democracy
October 6, 2008 by ThoughtRocket
Direct Democracy
It really is the 21st century.
Because big money is the fuel for our national elections, our voice, the voice of real citizens rather than economic interests or fringe fanatics, must be heard.
And if you agree it’s time for all of America’s voice to be heard then join us in an exercise of Direct Democracy. Let’s help create a New American Agenda.
By presidential election time in 2008 the candidates will have been bombarded by the big lobbies, big corporations, and big-mouthed interest groups for months and months. We simply can’t allow these table bangers to control our national agenda.
American Revolutions are fueled by technology. This one is no different. We now can gain power by democratizing it. It’s called mass collaboration or open sourcing. EBay, which started as an on-line garage sale is now a world-wide market place for virtually everything. Linux software has been developed as an alternative to Microsoft through the free input of collaborating programmers around the world. Wikipedia is an open source web encyclopedia written by thousands of people who have expertise about a particular subject. EBay Linux, and Wikipedia have something in common. They are self-organizing, large-scale, innovative, human systems. University research confirms time and again that the best, most innovative ideas come from considering the greatest number of different ideas. It doesn’t come form a few egomaniacs sitting in a wood paneled room sipping scotch. That’s what gets us into war, bad economic policy, broken education and the other maladies of our times.
In researcher, James Surowiecki’s landmark book The Wisdom of Crowds he tells us that the best solution to big complex problems like saving the environment or ending terrorism are found by considering the widest number of different possible solutions. He points out that maximizing group benefits for the common good happens when only self-interest expands to include community interest. “Prosocial behavior” is called optimization theory. Well, it’s high time to optimize.
Surowiecki goes on to tell us that citizen groups get wise when they are 1) diverse 2) independent and 3) reasonably well informed. Crowds get stupid when driven by fear. That’s why fear mongering is dangerous. It leads to black and white thinking. To war, prejudice, and injustice.
Citizen groups optimize decisions through the contest of best ideas not compromise. When bold action or new direction is needed, it’s innovative solutions polished up through healthy friction of discussion that bring breakthroughs. Conversely, the typical political process of compromise to build consensus typically results in a steaming stew of half-baked ideas that are no solution at all.
We have the technology for government by the people, and it’s time to use it. It’s time for your voice to be heard. I’m not talking mobocracy. I’m talking about real innovative solutions to the biggest challenges facing our future. But the solutions have to be real. In a mobocracy every idea has the same value. In an intelligent, open source system only the best ideas are debated, refined, and implemented. And big open source systems do work. EBay is largely self-policing, and Wikipedia now has a system for weeding out idiotic or dangerous entries. So isn’t it time to take our great experiment in Democracy into the 21st century? Here’s how.
Direct Democracy is yours. Anyone can register and comment and you don’t have to give up your present party affiliation or independence. We will have no stand-alone candidates. Instead we have an agenda for America. Our agenda is simply the eight imperatives of good government that healthy, happy societies enjoy, plus two additions:
1. Citizen Voice
2. Fair and Equal Enforcement of Laws
3. Lack of Violence
4. Leadership Accountability
5. Dependable Government Services
6. Absence of Corruption
7. Effective Regulation
8. Universal Access to Capital, Healthcare, and Education
9. Fair and Simple Taxation
10. Strong, Wise, and Good Foreign Policy
My big breakthrough as a teacher in SF was when I got fed up with the “propoganda filled textbooks” and simply put up a “FREE SPEECH ALLOWED” sign on the front wall of my classroom. My students loved it from day one !!
The last few years I taught in the public school system I had a very liberal administration that allowed me to try “free speech” iand “free curriculum development” in the classroom once again and the results were absolutely amazing.
My kids test scores soared, and their attendance was almost 100%. They wanted to come to class because they didn’t want to miss a single day of “open debate”. They began to love my appraoch to Middle School learning because they felt like they were in a “think tank” where we were “searching for the solutions to the big quesions of life” NOT just memorizing old facts.
Obama asked for new ideas about how to cut down the “drop out rate” in high schools and I have them. I discovered that when you treat kids as equals and stop brainwashing them and/or terrorizing them into docile submission – they SOAR and actually begin to do what the Oracle at Delphi suggested – “know thyself.” When you stop torturing and threatening kids, and stop force feeding them the old belief systems of the “military industrial complex’ they thrive !and expand and grow in ways that are absolutely amazing ! They are America’s best hope for the future !!!