With all those obstructionist techniques in place and all the levers of governance co-opted by an economic elite, it becomes clear that within the present political system there is no way to have any meaningful citizen voice unless those in power can manipulate citizens to appear to support a system which would diminish and ultimately destroy democracy itself.
And yet this unrepresentative government speaks to the world as though you have given it your support. All of the business of the nation is done in your name and on your dime, even though you have little or no voice in nearly all of those decisions.
The argument that is used to justify what is occurring is to remind people that this system we live in has been set up as a democratic republic, which means that we elect representatives to speak for us in that government. The problem, of course, is that too many of those representatives no longer serve the electorate but instead, serve those with the political and financial power who allow them to stay in their jobs. As the electoral system becomes more co-opted by that economic power, the system becomes totally dysfunctional for most of the citizenry but totally functional for the economic elite who now control all the levers of power in the nation.
Reclaiming Our CitizenshipThe only viable solution is to claim and use the rights of democratic citizenship to forge a new politics of citizen participation by organizing and working together to provide a clear citizens' voice that cannot be ignored. Much of this will need to happen outside the framework of our current system of elective politics since that has been so thoroughly corrupted and co-opted.
Remember that most of your daily lives are not determined by governmental decisions even though they control such big picture issues as the economy and foreign policy at this time. However, they do not control how we live our lives and deal with each other. We are still free to deal with the realities as we see fit, deal with our relationships as we see fit, live our daily lives as we see fit, build our communities and organizations as we see fit, and finally, to live the lives of empowered citizens within a democracy.
Community
This is where community comes in. We are free to form organizations and communities with others who also insist on a new politics and the rebirth of true democratic citizenship.
Some of this work has already begun due to the effects of the pandemic. We have been forced back upon ourselves for survival. We have rediscovered our existing communities and learned to forge new ones for survival. We have discovered that economics did not hold the important solutions as our "economy" ground to a halt.
In other words, we have rediscovered ourselves and the incredible empowerment that comes with that discovery. We were able to play a major role in our own survival when the government was not very responsive or when it just didn't seem to care.
DemocracyDemocracy is about those reenergized citizens, their communities and their organizations, working together to forge a new politics based on citizen and community participation.
Community is about forging relationships to further the goals of a group of people. Getting together to build a democratic society epitomizes the very heart of America. It is about cooperation, inclusivity, accepting differences, and equality. We all know how supportive and nurturing a community can be. We all know how wonderful it feels to work with others to improve the society as a whole. We understand the synergy that working together can provide. Such community creates its own momentum. It often provides a real reason for celebration.
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