Forum Post: Iceland citizens wrote their Constitution this year:
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 8, 2011, 10:45 a.m. EST by JeffBlock2012
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http://stjornlagarad.is/english/ http://stjornlagarad.is/other_files/stjornlagarad/Frumvarp-enska.pdf
Preamble: We, the people who inhabit Iceland, wish to create a just society where every person has equal opportunity. Our diverse origin enriches our society and together we are responsible for the heritage of generations, our country and its history, nature, language and culture. Iceland is a free and sovereign state with freedom, equality, democracy and human rights as its cornerstones. The government shall endeavour to strengthen the welfare of the country‘s inhabitants, encourage their culture and respect the diversity of the life of the people, the country and its biosphere. We wish to promote harmony, security and happiness amongst us and coming generations. We are determined to work towards peace with other nations and respect for the earth and all mankind. In light thereof we set a new Constitution, the supreme law of the land that all must observe.
Why don't we do this in the USA ??? http://www.jeffblock2012.com/The_Revolution_of_2013.html
Now we're on the right track! The one thing that has worked in actual practice, dovetails with the plan given below! -
Many people have expressed their opinion about the way forward in this movement.
There are 3 common flaws in the proposals 1)"demands" have to be approved within the existing political structure, 2)physical theft or violence would require interference from the government, 3)current political entities would absorb this movement, when the feeling in the air is that something absolutely new is required.
Here is my proposal: create a new national capitol. Only that move will be seen as satisfying when we look back on these events in the decades to come.
But how can this small movement break free from the current oligarchy that controls us? We are doctors, lawyers, and farmers just the same as our founding fathers. Yet, the principles they created have been distorted to serve the oligarchy. These principles should be renewed.
In creating a new and better seat of government, we have the most powerful tool ever created - the internet.
I suggest Kansas City, Kansas as a location for this new seat of government. A new and faster internet is being created there. An open and more benign canvas exists at this site, without the stifling history and "baggage" found on either coast.
We don't need to hate "them", we'll just focus on creating a better "us". The energy to do this, exists right now in New York.
CarryTheGrips
Iceland's population is 318,000 [ http://www.statice.is/Statistics/Population ] which is just about 1/1000th of the population of the US [ 311,800,000 ] - point being that a Constitution for 300,000 homogenous Icelanders [ "Most Icelanders are descendants of Norwegian settlers and Celts from Ireland and Scotland who were brought over as slaves during the age of settlement." ] is very different from the Constitutional checks and balances required by a very heterogeneous United States.
As to a Constitutional Convention let's not imagine that this will be easy.
Almost everything in life is simple. Almost everything in life (worth doing) is not easy. One of the biggest "macro" reasons for strife here in the USA is because we are NOT "united", at you point out.
A Constitutional Convention will never happen...been attempted now...some 70 times?
Right Jeff. What's difficult historically about the US, is the winner takes all political process. But this is Constitutional, and was around when the nation was a collection of agrarian and limited amount of manufacturing and trade interests. So the only way to become a parliamentary system like Canada or the UK, and that would require probably a Con Con - which brings us back to your point Jeff...so if a Con Con will never (practially) happen, we're left with another route.
My route of choice is a populist anti-FED (remove the FED's 1913 charter) and take back the creation and control of OUR money. From there, you can clean up national and regional politics, because money will not be able to as easily flow into campaigns (this can be further informed by reasonable laws restricting the influence of monies interests like corporations and unions.
Then we continue the cleanup of both major parties - which has only just begun.
My two cents on the political ramifications of the various protests.
You really think that electing you president is somehow similar to the collective and democratic revolution that took place in Iceland? Yes, Iceland's revolution is inspiring, but what does that have to do with you being president? Didn't they completely reform their government?
No, they didn't completely reform their government. They protested, got their Parliament to buy-in to citizens writing their Constitution (which re-affirms their Parliamentary form of government) and now their Constitution has been submitted to their Parliament.
The point of the exercise is that citizens can directly create solutions if they want to create solutions. My Presidency is merely a mechanism to deliver a citizen created solution.