> Bill, it sounds like you want to change our government from a republic
> to a democracy. IMHO democracy is great for relatively small numbers
> but would be a disaster for 300 million and counting. Nothing would
> ever get done. Congress has a democratic form and with only 535
> voting members, it takes forever to do something.
Hal, I cannot imagine running a gov't without having people to do the
work, so it's not the concept of having 'representatives' that I'm
against, it's with the process that puts them there.
I've lost confidence in the two major parties that dominate politics.
I'm sure the system has long been flawed, but now it's out of control
and needs to be replaced. We'll still need to choose people to represent
us, no matter how "pure" democracy gets, but we - not the parties - need
to control the selection process. And now, for pretty much the first
time in history, we actually have the tools to do it.
As regards implementation, it's just too easy to imagine a secure system
that delivers all of the information we need to choose candidates - and
then accepts and tally's our choices. All this fuss is being made over
how we can't trust voting systems, but that's just not true. Even I can
imagine how to make it secure, and I didn't go to MIT. Still, I'd be
perfectly willing to defer to a better solution from there or anywhere.
The point is that whatever problems there are with implementing an
electronic voting system can be solved. We just have to want it.
If we can go ahead and imagine that the security and positive ID
barriers are solved, what do we have? A voter information system par
excellance, that helps us navigate the issues and the candidates in
summary and as much detail as we wish to see. We could even set aside a
long running presidential election process, to give people plenty of
time to do their homework and click "submit" (all this from home, in
front of a merged TV/Internet console, of course). I'd bet we have VFP
folks right here who could put together a fantastic voting/information
system, and I'd love to contribute my own ideas as well (in particular
the use of a side-by-side pro-con presentation format for the issues,
and a grid showing candidates and their positions on the issues). Money
doesn't need to get involved in this scenario, just people who want to
run for office. To handle the volume, our personal choices for
editors/columnists/pundits can help us navigate the choices.
In summary, we don't need no stinkin' parties, just a better system, and
technology can deliver the solution.
Some food for thought: imagine how easily Madison Ave could sell this,
if only it wanted to.
> The people have allowed the curtain to fall on "open"
> government. It is the people who must lift it and they must
> do so within the bounds of our Constitution.
Agreed!
> When was the last time you spoke to your representatives and told them
how
> you feel?
On occasion I have done that. It's always great exchanges, smiles, yes's
and thank you's - and then they go back to carrying out the party
line/agenda. Thus it's not they who we want to talk to in the first
place, but their replacements; people selected by a purer democratic
process who listen to their constituents and their own reasoning. Then
it will be worth the time to seek out and talk with such people. Now,
the way it is, is just a waste of time.
> I am going to jump off the soapbox here because I am in no
> position to cast aspersions. I am just as guilty as the next one.
As you can see, I think that participating in on-line forums is a
contribution. Not only are ideas presented and sometimes debated and
possibly adjusted, but also the act of expressing a point of view helps
to refine it (nothing like giving a class on something to teach
yourself!). Without forums, we'd pretty much have nothing - and then our
ideas would be just so many trees falling in the forest.
Bill
> HALinNY
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