Forum Post: Making demands, System vs. Policy.

Let's face it: everyone knows Something is Wrong. That doesn't mean everyone knows what needs to be made right.

I don't really want to discuss the Constitution, but it seems to me the problem isn't what's written down there. The problem is what was left out for Future Generations (us) to fill in. The problem is we - and our parents, and their parents - didn't do that. Ok, I don't really care who is to blame. Can we just fix it?

Fortunately, the Constitution has rules in place for how to fix it. Can we use those?

In other words, do we want to participate in the system? If the system is giving us only superficial participation (and I feel it is), then can we identify the barriers that are keeping us from substantial participation? That is my suggestion for a focus. And that means demanding changes to The System, not The Policy. I realize that this means many causes will be left out - everything from Environmentalism to Privatization. That's the whole spectrum of political ideology, so I feel like I'm being fair.

If we fix the System, we can participate in the System to fix Policy in a process that is acceptable to ALL citizens of the nation. We don't have to transform the movement into a Liberal or Conservative coup - which will only kick the proverbial can of ideological warfare to another generation. I still believe in Representative Democracy. I believe that is how we should be settling Policy disputes.

The problem is we are not properly Represented in this Democracy. Because The System doesn't respond to votes, it responds to financing.

Therefore, if I were Occupy, I would make demands like:

1) Abolish Corporate Personhood.

2) Reform Campaign Finance.

3) Impose Congressional Term Limits.

4) Tie Congressional Pay to US Median Income and Unemployment.

5) Reform Political Districting.

6) Abolish Lobbying - which deserves special mention as state-sanctioned bribery.

7) Publicize the Private Financial Records of Congressmen and Their Families.

This is a short and skeletal list, but they are all structural demands. The intent is to refocus Governance on the will of the people, not the wallet of Corporate Personhood. No, it doesn't solve every problem - but the larger battle over the fundamental philosophy of the nation CAN and SHOULD be fought with ideas, not with violence, not with dollars, and not in secret.