I've been thinking about this a whole lot recently, and I want to get it out prior to the election, as I believe in this regardless of who wins
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As an added note, I identify with the majority of the Democratic party issues, but I do not consider myself a Democrat. I am excited about the possibilities of an Obama presidency, but I am not loyal to his party. I typically vote for Democrats, because I typically agree more with what they have to say than the Republicans. I do not think that either Party can lay claim to a moral high ground or a methodological superiority. They both do things right and wrong, and I would rather that both didn't exist.
To co-opt some of Patri's language on the issue, political parties don't create wealth. They waste money. Barack Obama spent close to a Billion Dollars to get elected. That money, for the most part, created no substantial wealth, and while I appreciate the results, it would be better if the system didn't encourage spending quite so strongly. Wouldn't it be better if we'd get the same result with neither candidate spending more than a million?
I think some of your points might be a little hard to implement without some hefty violations of Freedom of Speech, but in principle I agree whole-heartedly. I consider myself an independent currently allied with the Democratic party because I consider them currently better than the alternative, but I'm not a huge fan of theirs. I realize it's highly unlikely, but I still have a faint hope that a truly crushing defeat for the Republicans might cause the party to fracture. A newly formed party built from the ashes of the Republicans (hopefully based on actual fiscal conservatism) could probably grab a lot of independents and some wavering Democrats and reshuffle the party lines, breaking up old allegiances.
I admit it's highly unlikely, but independents currently outnumber Republicans, so I think there's some hope.
I think some of your points might be a little hard to implement without some hefty violations of Freedom of Speech
Agreed. And I'm not advocating such implementations. Perhaps I'll wave the magic wand that people are using to give everyone national heath care while simultaneously lowering taxes and fix things that way.
I think that the first several points on my list are a matter of implementation. It isn't a freedom of speech issue to require ballots to have party affiliation under any reasonable interpretation. The first amendment is designed to weaken government control and prevent governmental suppression of private expression. The government is in no way obligated (nor should it be) to allow or require that ballots contain such speech.
As snailprincess mentions, some of those seem like interesting ideas that would require strong magic to implement in practice.
Food for thought, though.
As a random aside about the Electoral College, I've had a conversation with someone who was in favor of it because it meant that ballot-stuffing had to be less localized in order to influence the whole election.
I agree with much of what you state here. Many of the same thoughts have been bouncing around my head as well, but you state them so much better.
One thing about our system that is true, politicians care about constituent correspondence. We have to develop more effective communication channels between representatives and citizens. Right now, Obama and the DNC are the ones ahead on that front.
Obama is right about one thing, it's going to take some work and time to fix the things that are wrong in this country. I think your subsequent post on Explorers and Preservers is a good step towards a good conversation while we work together on the country's issues.
One thing that is absolutely necessary is citizen involvement in our government beyond the voting booth. Writing letters to elected officials and volunteering in our community. Either way this election goes, if we do it all together I think we'll understand each other better regardless of Parties.
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To co-opt some of Patri's language on the issue, political parties don't create wealth. They waste money. Barack Obama spent close to a Billion Dollars to get elected. That money, for the most part, created no substantial wealth, and while I appreciate the results, it would be better if the system didn't encourage spending quite so strongly. Wouldn't it be better if we'd get the same result with neither candidate spending more than a million?
Reply
I admit it's highly unlikely, but independents currently outnumber Republicans, so I think there's some hope.
Reply
Agreed. And I'm not advocating such implementations. Perhaps I'll wave the magic wand that people are using to give everyone national heath care while simultaneously lowering taxes and fix things that way.
I think that the first several points on my list are a matter of implementation. It isn't a freedom of speech issue to require ballots to have party affiliation under any reasonable interpretation. The first amendment is designed to weaken government control and prevent governmental suppression of private expression. The government is in no way obligated (nor should it be) to allow or require that ballots contain such speech.
Reply
Food for thought, though.
As a random aside about the Electoral College, I've had a conversation with someone who was in favor of it because it meant that ballot-stuffing had to be less localized in order to influence the whole election.
Reply
One thing about our system that is true, politicians care about constituent correspondence. We have to develop more effective communication channels between representatives and citizens. Right now, Obama and the DNC are the ones ahead on that front.
Obama is right about one thing, it's going to take some work and time to fix the things that are wrong in this country. I think your subsequent post on Explorers and Preservers is a good step towards a good conversation while we work together on the country's issues.
One thing that is absolutely necessary is citizen involvement in our government beyond the voting booth. Writing letters to elected officials and volunteering in our community. Either way this election goes, if we do it all together I think we'll understand each other better regardless of Parties.
Reply
yep. i agree with that.
any thoughts on ye olde parliamentary system? and while we're at it, what about the nature of Power in humans?
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