Democracy

I came up with the the following thought while researching the ZIP code and how it began. We just realized we needed it, created a committee to do it, and, voila, then they did it.

So I was thinking about America and how we’ve lost what we never really had, and it got me sad, and I decided we didn’t have to accept defeat, and I decided the problem is we don’t meet.

Did you know the Greeks did not have representative democracy? They had direct democracy, but only among perhaps 10% of the population. But if you had a vote, you had to show up and participate.

And today, we have a head of government, and he hears from his advisers, secretaries of the various departments, and the 635 elected representatives. but with 350 million people, that’s 551181 people per representative. But what about coming together as a community, or other shared group, and deciding ourselves what we want?

Here’s how it could work.

1) We decide what we think. We decide what we care about and what’s most important to us.

2) We talk with our family and immediate friends to get a sense of how we fit in. We educate ourselves and refine our opinions.

3) We take the top stuff and dig a little deeper to see what’s being done to fix it.

4) We get a little involved in the very top stuff, one or two things we’re most passionate about. We get an insiders view of these “top topics.”

THEN

We get together with people in our geographical locale, and also around issues we care about. We think about how we could make small adjustments and changes so that we can reach broader consensus.

Among the local hood, we pick one representative for each ZIP code. so now we have an in between congress made up of 10,000 representatives, which is a little under 20 people for every existing legislator. So that’s a group that can talk, debate, agree, disagree, solve problems. 21 people meeting, all with a constituency, that then groups themselves together to their geographical representative, but, here’s the cool new part, also goes fishing for others OUTSIDE of their district that match theirs. So that’s a huge benefit. If composting or changing laws so reusing gray water, or so that composting was legal, or so that restaurants were allowed to give away food, or moms could leave their kids in the car, or whatever, maybe new laws would be passed, or new programs would be initiated, or new reforms would happen.