2.0 Democracy
I loved this TED talk by Pia Mancini and found myself nodding in agreement pretty much the whole way through. But I'd like to make some clarifications. The United States is not a democracy, we are a republic. Majority does not rule here, but supposedly we are represented. That being said, I am one of those nut jobs that believes the Constitution is an inspired document. I don't believe the Constitution is the problem with America today, I believe the problem is just how Pia described....it's the process of politics. Politics in and of themselves have flat been outpaced by technology. There are a few quotes in her talk that absolutely resonated with me - 1) "Politics is solving today's problems with yesterday's tools." Boy, that hits the nail on the head doesn't it? How is it that I can talk to my son in Brazil within a matter of seconds but my congressman is unavailable, or he doesn't know my position on issues here in Southern Utah? I have a cell phone, I can text in milliseconds and yet the political decision making process is long, heavy and drawn out. My congressman can't vote for what I want, because he has no idea what I want! Why? Because I don't have the time to use the archaic methods employed today to tell him. 2) "Conflict is bound to happen between a system that no longer represents nor has any dialogue capacity, and citizens that are increasingly used to representing themselves." Bingo, yet again. The Constitution is not the issue, it's the system and how we are communicating is the issue. I love the thought of an app, that tells me in layman's terms what is on the agenda. Everything that is voted on, is written by lawyers for lawyers. How am I supposed to be educated in what's out there, if I have to go to law school to understand it? Wouldn't that be fabulous if my Congressman posted something on the app, Yay or nay, I say nay? Onward and upward!! Furthermore, I love Mia Love's proposal on one bill at a time.....My biggest pet peeve, they try to sneak things under the radar in a bill that has nothing to do with the topic. Irks me. And last but not least 3) "But we must admit that we haven't been good at using those same networks and technologies to successfully articulate an alternative to what we're seeing and find the consensus and build the alliances that are needed to make it happen." What she's referring to is the fact that we as a public have become quite astute at using technology to put protests together etc....but we have not used technology to come up with alternatives to what we don't want. She has taken a step in the right direction by inventing the Democracy app - but I believe if our leaders were open to figuring out ways technology could help us communicate with them, more ideas would come about. However, Pia makes an excellent point that politicians right now don't want to hear our voice. It's not a "technology issue, it's a cultural issue." They are completely comfortable running things themselves and have no desire to change. Would they really vote for what the people truly wanted even if it was against their opinion? I know that if I were a Congressman and let's say abortion was illegal. If the majority of my constituents wanted it to be legal (and of course I would know this because I would have every single citizens opinion on the matter through technology) I would really struggle casting my vote for the legality of abortion. And what about all the money? What would a politician do if Monsanto's money played no roll in the decision making process? The people don't want pesticides, the end. If only life and the political process were that simple.
I'm not involved with politics because I don't think it has anything to do with issues. It's about money and power, two things of which I am running short on as of late. And until they clear the playing field it's going to stay that way. So I will go on with my life, doing the best I can with whatever the rich people shell out.
Mary,
ReplyDeleteI appreciated your stance on these issues and that you did point out that the Government doesn't give a damn about us or our voice. I can speak out all I want: post about it on Facebook, call the government offices, protests and picket, I can do everything in my power and the government will never actually care. I can go vote but in Utah my voice doesn't matter and it's the same in 47 other states. And in the end even if I'm in a swing state my elector gets to pick my vote for me. So the question is will an app really fix it? Do we need a new constitution? A revolution? What is the solution? In my scope I don't see a solution.
Hey Daxton - thanks for your comment. No, I don't think an app will fix it, but may be helpful? I think you're right when you said you weren't sure how serious people would take the app? A new constitution - I don't think so - a new political process - definitely. A revolution - may be inevitable. I have relatives in jail for being fed up with the system and trying to take action. Some say they are in jail because they broke the law, I have to say most revolutionaries are not law abiding - because the law is corrupt. I admittedly don't have the answers.
ReplyDeleteAnyway - I like your comments in class - keep it up.
I think the answer is education! To many truly ignorant people in this great country of ours. Ignorant of their rights, and responsibility's as American citizens. How can we defend the Constitution when few of us have ever read it, and how do we know if a law gets passed that is unconstitutional if we are ignorant of our God given rights! In today's information age, we get to share the truth of our rights with all we know. Puplic schools will never teach it, they are government controlled, they don't want us to know, we are easier to control when we are a bunch of ignorant sheep, dependent on their rules, and guidance.
ReplyDeleteI think the answer is education! To many truly ignorant people in this great country of ours. Ignorant of their rights, and responsibility's as American citizens. How can we defend the Constitution when few of us have ever read it, and how do we know if a law gets passed that is unconstitutional if we are ignorant of our God given rights! In today's information age, we get to share the truth of our rights with all we know. Puplic schools will never teach it, they are government controlled, they don't want us to know, we are easier to control when we are a bunch of ignorant sheep, dependent on their rules, and guidance.
ReplyDelete