Reply #27: Free and fair elections...to what end...

[autorank]

I favor free and fair elections as goals in and of themselves. It is the basis for human dignity and agency. Since we're not assured that we're getting honest results and open and inclusive registration to gain broad participation, we have no reason to believe in the legitimacy of our leaders. In addition, we are affronted by the manifest disrespect shown to each of us and felt by each of us as we see our friends, neighbors, and people we don't even know, fellow citizens however, disrespected by petty bureaucrats and their plutocratic masters as they spit in our faces and shove us to the side in pursuit of their need for greed.

I also favor free and fair elections as a means to an end. I should point out that free and fair elections mean: open,inclusive registration; easily verifiable (by all who chose to do so) elections; and campaigns that are absent corporate, PAC, or any other type of funding other than public donations through USPS and required donations from newspapers, radio, and television (cable too!).

To what end? Quite simply, the end of our drift, rather gallop toward the cliff of extinction. We have as a broad consensus on these facts: the polar ice caps will have melted and sea level will have risen 20 feet by 2100. This won't happen all at once, it's incremental. Almost all Florida cities, New Orleans, and Manhattan will be underwater. London too and the Netherlands will cease to exist. We face a crisis of civilization, world civilization.

Has anyone heard any world leader say: "Human culture faces a radical attack brought on by our own behaviors and practices. We face global cataclysm in just a matter of years. The death, suffering and material costs are so great, we face total collapse as societies. Therefore, it is imperative that all countries recognize the undeniable scientific facts about global climate change and bond together to meet this challenge. Wars, trade disputes, espionage, military budgets, and petty politics are a thing of the past."

Of course not one major leader has said this. They are all blinded by their own power politics and, given their failure to respond to this, they are all idiots.

We're in a horse race between our ability to effect change resulting in real democracy and a wide awareness of the dangers we face as a species impelling a variety of outcomes. It's simply not possible to predict with any degree of accuracy. However, it's important to recognize that the dire state of our ecosystem will be greatly aided by real democracy. At the same time, the looming eco catastrophes will be used by our "leaders" to diminish our rights further and relegate us to passive witnesses to our own destruction. Remember, our leaders are ipso facto idiots.

In my opinion, given the facts as they are, our goal should be:

1) Push very hard on the obvious fact that we do not have democracy and our leaders are illegitimate. This is important because people will be saying WTF, how did this happen. We have the answer. A collection of rule breakers constructed a system to systematically deny people both the opportunity to vote and the right to have their votes counted. As a result, we're in our present circumstance because the people, full enfranchised and freely informed, would never have endorsed the creation of our current troubles.

2) Uphold democracy as the logical alternative to rule by usurpers, rule breakers. They break the rules of nature as easily as those of politics. Why are we surprised that they've ruined our habitat. Pick any 535 people at random from the us population. Randomly assign 100 as Senators and 453 as Representatives...you will have a congress superior to the one we have now. Allow real elections and the representation will be even better. Our motto should be, why not give democracy a chance.

3) Be on the watch for any excuses the usurpers come up with to deny democracy. Touch screens, centralized voter registration databases, racial discrimination to deny voter registration are some we know. National security, catastrophes etc. will be other excuses.

As advocates for choice by the people we are necessarily advocates for the wisdom of those choices. We have to make the case again and again that we've never really had that for some time and it's a better alternative than the rule of the self-selected. Look where they've taken us.

There will be some event that will blow things wide open evolving from an accelerating series of reports, like those we see now (LA registration system rejecting 43% of voters) and we'll have our audience. We need to be prepared. You only get one chance to make a first impression.

Simple points -- Free and fair elections confer legitimacy; the absence denies rulers the right to rule. Democracy does not exist with electronic voting hidden and operated by private firms. The absence of democracy is the reason we're in such trouble. Letting the people decide their own fate, which would certainly be to continue as a species, is the cure, democracy is the cure.

Maybe a Ukraine, maybe a Whiskey Rebellion, maybe a rapid evolution in our culture like the Irish experienced in the past 20 years (only much quicker)...who knows. We just need to keep the fire burning and our goals refined and focused. The massive failures by our "leaders" will be so abundantly clear, we will soon be presented with a special opportunity to make a simple, reasonable, and optimistic case -- real democracy for people who want to live rather than accept the fate of a slow roll off a large cliff.