The comments that are usually posted on this forum tend to refer to changes
in governance methodologies from a European perspective. It seems that the
consensus of opinion among the participants is that DD should occur in a
single or very few steps. I have some doubts about that conclusion for
several reasons. Most of them relate to the many variables inherent in
social adaptation modalities.
The ability to adapt to changes in governance as with the ability to adapt
to most other changes in the socio-cultural-economic sphere involve numerous
individuals with different levels of educational development. Additionally,
there are many other external and internal variables inherent in the ability
to adapt. Ultimately, there is no clear continuity in human behavior that
would provide for the rapid changes in normative human behavior that would
accommodate a rapid transition to DD. Rather, the tendency is to focus (and
occasionally fixate) on individual events and issues rather than relate them
to the current level of dysfunction in governance, its cause and its
effects.
From that perspective within the United States the issues that should
concern us most are not the ever increasing need for national health care,
the grossly exaggerated specter of terrorism, the unbalanced economy, global
warming, social security, or the other emotion based distractions hyped by
the media that frequently involve the intangible and continuously evolving
mores of sex and morality. Rather, our primary concern should focus on a
dysfunctional government and the absence of meaningful - and ethical --
representation by many of the public officials we have elected.
The current lack of truly representative governance is at the root of many
problems that affect each state, each region, and this nation. The arrogance
and indifference to the majority of the electorate by much of the local,
regional, and national leadership of this nation are just one part in the
ongoing decline of legitimate representative democracy. The legitimate needs
and desires of the majority of the American people to obtain economic
opportunity, social mobility, and shared prosperity are not being met.
It should be obvious that we are not being properly represented. Political
power has shifted to a well-funded, self-serving minority of large corporate
vested interests and dogmatic ideologues that regularly dictate governmental
policies and processes with detrimental effects on our lives and wellbeing.
This self-serving corporate plutocracy has been undermining our rights and
privileges for far to long. As part of this process legitimate
representative democracy has become a farce.
The institutionalized corruption and continuous decline of representative
democracy is clearly due to the continuous need of politicians to obtain
campaign funds. This corruption is exacerbated by an entrenched oligarchy of
large corporate interests that have the financial ability to buy access to
government by providing politicians with the bulk of their campaign funding.
These politicians reciprocate by providing large corporations with the
services they demand at taxpayer expense. With this corruption have come
attempts by many in power to maintain the status quo or to reduce -- if not
halt - the natural expansion our individual responsibilities, our civil
liberties, and our collective rights.
The most effective way of reducing -- and ultimately ending - this endemic
corruption of government by the well paid representatives of large selfish
corporate interests is by eliminating all the private campaign contributions
that corrupt elected officials and distract them from providing their
constituents with the services they demand. This should also help us from
being distracted from substantive policy issues by the highly emotional,
vicious, and frequently irrelevant matters promoted during elections.
Initially, our aim should be establishing an effective system of
non-partisan voluntary public funding of candidates for national, state, and
local public office. We should also gradually empower the public
incrementally with a system of continuous national citizen based initiatives
and referenda on all the substantive public policy issues that affect our
lives and the lives of all future generations.
For representative governance to work in the public's best interest it must
be administered by ethical career professionals selected by a fully informed
public electorate on the objective basis of the candidate's legislative and
administrative knowledge, skills, abilities, and desire to serve the general
public first and foremost. In order to administer our government effectively
all public servants must be obligated to continually improve the rights, and
serve the needs of the vast majority while preventing abuses to the rights
of those who choose to dissent.
All legislators and public administrators should be required to periodically
take comprehensive written and oral examinations that demonstrate their
qualifications, competence and continued understanding of the public's
evolving needs and desires. The results of such examinations should be the
basis of critical and objective examination by the public without the
pervasive bias and superficiality of political advertising. Only then can
the people of this nation make the fully informed value judgments necessary
to insure meaningful representation by our public servants.
Empowered self-governance is clearly the most meaningful and fulfilling form
of governance. Our ultimate goal should be a system of direct democracy with
optimal and ethical self-regulation administered by career public servants
dedicated to serving the public. Objective evaluations based on critical
thinking skills must reflect our growing abilities to make the fully
informed ethical judgments necessary for the increased controls we need to
promote a political, social, and economic environment that enhance our
eternal desires for ever greater self-determination.
To a great extent all of these challenges are applicable to governance in
Europe as well as the United States.
How many of us are willing to work toward developing the environment that
can help us achieve those goals?