| From: | "Bruce Eggum" <bruceeggum(at)gmail.com> |
|---|---|
| Date: | Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:40:16 -0500 |
| Subject: | Re: [WDDM] Re: Conscience |
Dear PVR WDDM,
PVR said:
{PVR} Elaborating on my previous post, a person can be said to have acted according to his/her conscience if what he thinks or does comes fom the heart and is thus beneficial as much to the people around him as to himself.
(Bruce: ) I must agree, what is in the heart, is the persons attitude. This is perhaps the most important matter of developing a community, group or government based on "democracy". However not all the hearts are the same. From others perspective they believe what they think is right. (in their heart) If we did not have these difference's you and my all political representatives would believe as I do.
Obviously there are many many ways to believe. Dictators in their "heart" believe they were sent to rule, saving us from ourselves. They join democratic institutions and dictate to them. (gbush)
The US describes our democracy "of by and for the people". Of course we in the US realize we are a far cry from that ideal.
Each group must define what their "democracy" is because there are so very many "meanings". This is why a "constitution" or "charter" is essential. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy
If our WDDM definition of democracy is: a group, community, nation where the people have ultimate power, than we could decide to develop this type democracy in WDDM. We can ONLY decide for WDDM however. We cannot decide anything for any other group, community or nation and certainly not the world.
Jurisdiction must be noted. Jurisdiction is the area and extent that a group has the right to "control". This is often described geographically as well as "citizenship", the people who have "joined". Thus Amsterdam people could make a decision to tax Amsterdam citizens but this group does not have the "Jurisdiction" (power) to tax people in Slavonia.
WDDM has no jurisdiction other than WDDM affairs such as the color of the WDDM web page, the WDDM Infrastructure rules of process etc. If WDDM decides to tell people who or what to vote for (By endorsing a candidate or party,) , WDDM is destroying democratic principles. If WDDM suggests things, sites and information to assist the people in making a decision themselves, than WDDM is acting democratically. To form a democracy I believe it is essential that the majority of the people have "democracy in their hearts" meaning that the majority seek the good of the group. not the individual. Than the democratic process allows each the right to have input (Initiatives) into their group and all members of the group together make decisions (referenda). Of course with all the different viewpoints no decision can be totally accepted. However using 50% + 1 as the means, the majority accept the decision. This is why it is important to have rules to respect and include minorities.
Democracy is typical in a card club, a bowling league or any group where an idea is suggested, discussed and people agree by phone, raised hands, paper ballot etc. (referendum) Even a local community (town) often makes decisions this way.
So it is essential that WDDM define its democracy, jurisdiction, and not exceed its jurisdiction. Obviously all groups (nations) are not the same and have different existing infrastructure.
An example is "Parliament" which is different than US Congress, and each Parliament is different. PDR wants all WDDM to join him in ending "Party's". In Parliament structure, apparently party's are given power. It is the POWER of parties that make them dangerous in PDR's Parliament. Thus if PDR had I&R he and his community could Initiate law which would decrease that power. That action is within their jurisdiction.
There will always be factions. Call them Party's or call them NGO's, unions, organizations. If they seek to alter the government, they are destroying the principles of Democracy. Party's in the US are different, it is money which gives them power and we US people must deal with that aspect. Our US Party's do destroy democracy, they want their way totally. (dominate, dictate)
Keep it Simple, Bruce
PVR,
We've often not agreed on political theory. However, I agree with your statement about conscience and the universality of conscience. I share a couple of relevant quotations below:
"We are caught in an inescapable mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly." (M. L. King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail)
(I believe that this statement means that turning ones head does not diminish ones experience of the human condition but rather renders it incomprehensible.)
and
"We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that." (Charlie Chaplin, the Hope Speech in The Great Dictator.)
Mark Antell
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Vijayaraghavan Padmanabhan wrote:
Dear Mirek and all,
We are all in the quest for a Truer Democracy. If there is no doubt about this goal and if we are united in spirit regarding this goal then an appropriate structure to achieve this goal should fall in place without difficulty. Unfortunately while seeking to design a structure for a complex task, the spirit itself is frequently forgotten and we tend to get lost in complicated details.
We need to have an open mind if an appropriate structure is to fall in place. The basic problem with the prevailing kind of democracy is that it seeks to limit itself within defined structures like political parties. However good such a structure may be, once there is curbing of freedom of _expression_, it soon degenerates into a manipulative mechanism. Still we need a structure for deliberations. We need structures that allows _expression_ of every human point of view and yet that _expression_ is self-regulated to fit into the requirements of the society.
We have such a self-regulating mechanism within each one of us and it is called 'conscience'. Unfortunately this 'conscience' has nearly been forgotten since we are preoccupied with the fancies and capabilities of the mind. Conscience arises from the 'heart'. If all the affairs of the world are based on conscience then life would be much simpler.
The methods of DD like I&R allow _expression_ of the individual's preference, but it is the individual's conscience that motivates him. We need to recognize this basic point. Instead, the use of the word conscience is almost a taboo in today's world and it is looked down upon as being 'moralistic'. On the other hand it is a basic reality of every person's life. While WDDM has been trying to usher in I&R as a basic strategy, it has in fact been advocatoing _expression_ of the individual's conscience in matters of governance. The mechanism of 'partyless governance' that I have been advocating, puts this conscience as the focalpoint to usher in truer democracy.
The world today is dangerously divided. In a way this is inevitable since the world today is governed by structures designed by the dictates of the mind. Even though ideas of different people differ widely, the basic motivation arises from the individual's conscience. The heart of every person basically seeks peace, love, justice and freedom. If the preferences of the heart are allowed to express themselves through the consscience, then it will achieve what it seeks. But the human tendency is to forget the heart and become enslaved to the mind.
If conscience-based politics is ushered in at the global level, then instead of getting divided and more complicated, structures would be ushered in that would tend to integrate the world and conflict resolution would be a natural consequence.
The WDDM in quest of Truer Democracy, should make concience-based politics as its central theme. I hope members would agree on this broad philosophy. It will be obvious that it will be inappropriate to put this proposal under the existing procedural rule since it appeals to the heart rather than the mind.
I believe that the entire WDDM should be redesigned to allow _expression_ of both the heart and the mind in that order.
PVR