Forum Post: Towards a True Democracy, Pt. 2

To keep this second essay brief, one final issue I’ll discuss here is the really good news. We all know that we live in a capitalistic society and therefore money will never be separated from politics. As it stands now, billions are spent by corporations (even well meaning non-profit corporations and citizen’s groups) to influence the outcome of a vote or judicial appointment, etc. in congress. Also, as said in a recent movie, “…their (the corporations’) biggest fear is your (the citizens’) vote…” (I paraphrased, probably). This is because it is illegal (I think) and it is asserted to also be immoral, to buy your vote. Well let buy your vote, literally and metaphorically, let them fund C-Span or other media outlets designed to educate the public about the subject(s) at hand. Let them advertise there and even buy your vote directly by, for instance, offering a coupon or gift certificate to their or some conglomerate associate of theirs. Think hard about that because those billions now spent on congress could instead be spent on all of us. I would also remind you that buying your vote is already happening; only it is called influencing your vote, perhaps tugging upon your morals (which is presumably be the only deciding factor of your vote but isn’t, mainly because the written proposal was certainly not read by you or your congressman- usually due to its complicity-this is easily remedied by education and by having more than one discussion going on at any given time). By simply heeding the oath of fealty you give to your political party’s decision and voting for the approved candidate or proposal, either way-your vote is bought.
Sadly, what is not taught about our citizens is that they are already the ‘fourth branch of government.’ When looking at the Constitution and Bill of Rights this should be obvious. With but little consideration it becomes apparent that while at one time the role that the citizens play, who in Spirit were meant to be the “rulers” of government, as outlined in those documents were empowering. They are now antiquated given our level of technology and concern and they are restrictive of the modern citizen who is both highly educated and able to communicate and travel in ways that are well beyond what could be envisioned by our founding fathers who themselves doubted its success for any length of time beyond a few generations before it would itself become outdated due to the progression of humanity. They even allowed for this flexibility by constitutional amendments, etc. which this would eventually need to become. I would suggest a slow approach not dissimilar to what already occurs. We currently vote on state “propositions” etc. on hot-topic issues. These are laws which given the current political structure place a Politian in a no-win situation for their financial contributors are in conflict with the voters. Usually, the people get their way (for good or ill, fully comprehending its results or not, perhaps even emotionally swayed or upset), but the Politian ‘cannot’ be held responsible. The method which congress is elected will need to be shifted, presumably, to public funding and equal air-time for candidates. Given that a new and larger pool of candidates would result, a local round-robin tournament of sorts-much like American Idol could be used with each passed stage, eventually debates, resulting in more air-time and tours, etc. Eliminating the first, say 70% of candidates on local media before any substantial public funds are allotted would be a good start. Thanks for reading this, I don’t have all the answers and could use some feedback. If you think this is even remotely interesting, then please show it to someone else! All good ideas started as just that-ideas. Please feel welcome to continue the conversation by adding to it if you like.

A final note: This would work well with the Amendment proposed on getmoneyout.com wherein campaign donations from private, corporate and foreign entities would be illegal. Indeed, that seems like a natural first step.

Toward a True Democracy ©1998-2011 By Jonathan David Rawn Posted on the forum at: www.gematriapublishing.com