Now that we can get things done, Obama, do these things:
- Continue Twittering. If you want to stay popular and connected with the people make sure that you tweet every time you do anything at the White House.
- Don't till away your grass roots. While you might need to mow the lawn on your campaign support system do not get rid of it. Instead use the people you had generating support for you to begin creating informal local gatherings to talk about certain issues. Maybe every month is a different topic, but you must need to keep people engaged. We all too often turn off our brains when there doesn't seem to be anything going on that we can have a say in.
- Meet with every economic and political leader in the world. Go to China and talk with the people in charge of the business part of government. Go to Middle East and talk about what they can do to ensure that once oil is gone they will have industry to keep them rich.
- Be the leader of the party. Don't let Reed or Pelosi boss you around. You know what you want to do, get it done.
This is just a short list of things, general things, but if you follow them the rest will come.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
My Generation
For the last two years I have been looking forward to tomorrow night. That's because tomorrow night will be the first time I feel like I am a part of a generation of people who are willing to make something happen rather than ride on what the babyboomers did in the 60s.
Generation X has done very little in the way of pushing the world toward anything new and better. Instead, they let themselves become idle spectators in history refusing to admit that just because the Cold War was over that there was anything left to do. They seem to prefer accepting that we have reached the "end of history" as some political scholars have put it.
While I think it matters greatly as to who wins the election, I hope that either outcome will result in my peers standing up and making the things that work today better suited for tomorrow. I hope that we are able to spread information to everyone as to allow new ideas to sprout forth from every individual. I hope that we can take a world powered by oil, the sticky black remains of those who once lived and ruled, and turn it into a world powered by the supply of energy granted to us each day anew. I hope that we can soon provide the world with the feelings of joy the very privileged of us here in the West have by simply walking our peaceful streets at night after a full meal. I hope that we can all find a way to make sure that everyone's job is work and not labor.
I hope that I remember these words on the 5th, then again in January. It will be at these moments that our ideals will be tested. We must roll up our sleeves and dig our hands deeply into the soil of the future. Unlike those who came before us we must always know that the future is fertile with new opportunity, but it must be cultivated. From this we can produce something the likes of which has never been seen by civilization. I don't want to be the greatest generation, but I want to be better than any before. And I hope that we can inspire the next generation to the same or better.
My goals are lofty, but I don't think I am alone.
Generation X has done very little in the way of pushing the world toward anything new and better. Instead, they let themselves become idle spectators in history refusing to admit that just because the Cold War was over that there was anything left to do. They seem to prefer accepting that we have reached the "end of history" as some political scholars have put it.
While I think it matters greatly as to who wins the election, I hope that either outcome will result in my peers standing up and making the things that work today better suited for tomorrow. I hope that we are able to spread information to everyone as to allow new ideas to sprout forth from every individual. I hope that we can take a world powered by oil, the sticky black remains of those who once lived and ruled, and turn it into a world powered by the supply of energy granted to us each day anew. I hope that we can soon provide the world with the feelings of joy the very privileged of us here in the West have by simply walking our peaceful streets at night after a full meal. I hope that we can all find a way to make sure that everyone's job is work and not labor.
I hope that I remember these words on the 5th, then again in January. It will be at these moments that our ideals will be tested. We must roll up our sleeves and dig our hands deeply into the soil of the future. Unlike those who came before us we must always know that the future is fertile with new opportunity, but it must be cultivated. From this we can produce something the likes of which has never been seen by civilization. I don't want to be the greatest generation, but I want to be better than any before. And I hope that we can inspire the next generation to the same or better.
My goals are lofty, but I don't think I am alone.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Wikiocracy
This semester has been fun. Along with all the typical classes there are two that are really meshing for me more than usual this semester. The first is a poli sci class called "Dynamics of Democracy." It is basically a class on how democracy forms in countries around the world. This is mostly macro level ideas about governments and cultures, but if worked with enough can begin to look at the micro level of people and community. The other is a class on "Strange Communities." This class has looked at gangs, monks, and now Internet communities. Both classes I really didn't need to take and it would have made my life a bit easier if I hadn't taken them, but without them i would not have gotten to think about certain things. For example:
One of the questions that comes up often in my democracy class is that of what is after the stage of large scale republican democracy when it comes to legitimate government that is also as efficient as it can be. Today my communities class gave me the answer. We will form a wikiocracy. Now to see this as being reasonable we have to look at a few things first. Let's also just use Arkansas as the example of choice.
As of right now Arkansas has a legislature that meets every two years (maybe every year after this election) to decide on all sorts of laws and rules and budgets that the executive branch much follow. To do this the representatives and senators meet and draw up all sorts of bills. Most of these things are minor, but they are still important enough to have discussion over. Right now it is almost totally up to the congressmen (with the aid of lobbyists) to do this.
Now we elect people to do this sort of thing because we are all just too busy to have a direct say in government all the time. Plus, if we all tried to have a debate out on the floor of congress all the time nothing would ever get passed thanks to the pure inefficiency of it. This is all well and good for trying to have a light government that speaks where the people can't, but it is no good as we are entering an era of what many might refer to as postmodern complexity. By this I mean that we are at a point in our civilization in which none of us have the ability to see or understand everything (even within our own fields of expertise) thus we must accept that our views can only become more nuanced when combined with those of others.
Because of this new sense of ignorance the best* way we have developed so far of making law has been through professional politicians and lobbyists. This tends to limit the government's view of the complexity I have mentioned. If we are not careful the result will be that eventually the government will only think like a government and not like the wide birth of people it is meant to be serving.
To solve this we can look the movement of collaborative creation, such as Wikipedia and other wikis. These are places where anyone can enter and add their two cents and get out. This means that anyone can put their view of the world in with everyone else and soon there is a mean view that forms that most people can agree with (this mean is known as Subjective Neutrality). This and its self-correcting nature are what drives the wiki to being a useful tool.
Now what I am proposing is not going to be as open as Wikipedia, but it will allow everyone who wants a say to be able to help shape the way the government is run.
I propose a Legislative Wiki. It will contain articles about things that are legislated (such as an article on Fishing that contains information about what, when, where, and how it is legal for anyone to fish), things that people want to be legislated (such as gambling), and most importantly Drafts of Bills being considered by the legislature.
Now the first two types of articles will be open to the public to edit by making sure that public statements by important people and organizations are constantly added as deemed relevant. Because there are almost always two equally passionate sides to most issues and it will be mostly made up of facts this area of the wiki will only have to be loosely moderated by a constantly rotating group of non-partisan government workers. There will also be locked wiki pages constantly linked in these articles of current or past laws. They will be locked because they are the law and cannot be changed at the whim of the wikifolk. These articles will provide the information desperately needed in order to know where laws need to be put into place and just how the laws need to be structured for maximum efficiency.
These pages will of course have their own discussion pages that will allow them to produce debate from both citizens, groups, and government officials on topics from what should be on the page to whether there are laws that need to be changed.
Now comes the truly awesome part of this new legislative method!
Elected officials will constantly monitor the sections that most interest them and their constituents and as they seen clamor for a change in law they will create and moderate Draft Bill Proposal pages. These will either be locked or unlocked based on what the legislator sees as most useful for the proposal, but they will be hammered out by discussion from the people. Much more quickly than in a committee meeting all the potential flaws will be gone and the kind of reaction the bill gets will help the legislators decide how to vote if/when it gets to be put to a vote.
This whole process might seem complicated at first, but once it is set up it will run very smoothly.
The goal of doing this is to create a more democratic government in which anyone who wants a say in what is being said or heard by politicians. It will also give people a say in just how government runs things by giving people almost direct control over things such as laws. And by having more people than just politicos tinkering with bills there will be a more civilization encompassing tone to what is made into law. All of these things are goods and at one time would have been too costly to allow, but now that we have moved past traditional methods of communication these things are all possible.
*Best is a normative term, but I mean it as the most useful and societally efficient way of doing things.
One of the questions that comes up often in my democracy class is that of what is after the stage of large scale republican democracy when it comes to legitimate government that is also as efficient as it can be. Today my communities class gave me the answer. We will form a wikiocracy. Now to see this as being reasonable we have to look at a few things first. Let's also just use Arkansas as the example of choice.
As of right now Arkansas has a legislature that meets every two years (maybe every year after this election) to decide on all sorts of laws and rules and budgets that the executive branch much follow. To do this the representatives and senators meet and draw up all sorts of bills. Most of these things are minor, but they are still important enough to have discussion over. Right now it is almost totally up to the congressmen (with the aid of lobbyists) to do this.
Now we elect people to do this sort of thing because we are all just too busy to have a direct say in government all the time. Plus, if we all tried to have a debate out on the floor of congress all the time nothing would ever get passed thanks to the pure inefficiency of it. This is all well and good for trying to have a light government that speaks where the people can't, but it is no good as we are entering an era of what many might refer to as postmodern complexity. By this I mean that we are at a point in our civilization in which none of us have the ability to see or understand everything (even within our own fields of expertise) thus we must accept that our views can only become more nuanced when combined with those of others.
Because of this new sense of ignorance the best* way we have developed so far of making law has been through professional politicians and lobbyists. This tends to limit the government's view of the complexity I have mentioned. If we are not careful the result will be that eventually the government will only think like a government and not like the wide birth of people it is meant to be serving.
To solve this we can look the movement of collaborative creation, such as Wikipedia and other wikis. These are places where anyone can enter and add their two cents and get out. This means that anyone can put their view of the world in with everyone else and soon there is a mean view that forms that most people can agree with (this mean is known as Subjective Neutrality). This and its self-correcting nature are what drives the wiki to being a useful tool.
Now what I am proposing is not going to be as open as Wikipedia, but it will allow everyone who wants a say to be able to help shape the way the government is run.
I propose a Legislative Wiki. It will contain articles about things that are legislated (such as an article on Fishing that contains information about what, when, where, and how it is legal for anyone to fish), things that people want to be legislated (such as gambling), and most importantly Drafts of Bills being considered by the legislature.
Now the first two types of articles will be open to the public to edit by making sure that public statements by important people and organizations are constantly added as deemed relevant. Because there are almost always two equally passionate sides to most issues and it will be mostly made up of facts this area of the wiki will only have to be loosely moderated by a constantly rotating group of non-partisan government workers. There will also be locked wiki pages constantly linked in these articles of current or past laws. They will be locked because they are the law and cannot be changed at the whim of the wikifolk. These articles will provide the information desperately needed in order to know where laws need to be put into place and just how the laws need to be structured for maximum efficiency.
These pages will of course have their own discussion pages that will allow them to produce debate from both citizens, groups, and government officials on topics from what should be on the page to whether there are laws that need to be changed.
Now comes the truly awesome part of this new legislative method!
Elected officials will constantly monitor the sections that most interest them and their constituents and as they seen clamor for a change in law they will create and moderate Draft Bill Proposal pages. These will either be locked or unlocked based on what the legislator sees as most useful for the proposal, but they will be hammered out by discussion from the people. Much more quickly than in a committee meeting all the potential flaws will be gone and the kind of reaction the bill gets will help the legislators decide how to vote if/when it gets to be put to a vote.
This whole process might seem complicated at first, but once it is set up it will run very smoothly.
The goal of doing this is to create a more democratic government in which anyone who wants a say in what is being said or heard by politicians. It will also give people a say in just how government runs things by giving people almost direct control over things such as laws. And by having more people than just politicos tinkering with bills there will be a more civilization encompassing tone to what is made into law. All of these things are goods and at one time would have been too costly to allow, but now that we have moved past traditional methods of communication these things are all possible.
*Best is a normative term, but I mean it as the most useful and societally efficient way of doing things.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Whose Responsible for the Economy?
(This is what I would say if I were running for president.)
My friends, I know we are all worried about the economy right now, but fear not. Yes, we are experiencing one of the hardest economic times in recent memory, but things are still good. We still have food to eat and are coming together to make sure we all have a roof over our heads. It could be worse. Remember this.
Now I won't stand here and say that the economy is hunky-dory and we are doing just fine. Everyone from the investors on Wall Street to the corn growers in Iowa know that we are being effected by the bad decisions of a few institutions.
I will tell you this, however it is going to get better very soon. America cannot be kept down. We will bound back and be even stronger than ever.
Now in order to do this we much all stand strong and stand together.
As president, I will do my part to make sure that the government is watching out for its citizens. I will make sure that our workers, with every color collar, do not go without the basic things we need in life. To ensure a healthy democracy we need healthy people out there doing what needs to be done.
That said, I want you to know that the huge businesses that helped cause this mess will likely not be around much longer. The government will help the people. That's its job. But we will not provide a free pass to those who cannot create a stable marketplace for our investments.
This is what I will do. While we are concerned about specifics right now, I promise that this spirit will be in whatever economic plans I support.
Now this isn't enough however. I need, We need, America needs you all to be patient. It is hard right now to sit back and watch the news and the rest of the media sound like Nostradamus soothsaying or investments away. There is the temptation to pull your money out of the economy. Don't do this.
Your savings in your bank accounts are insured. The government will pick up the slack if it came to that, but that is not an issue thanks to FDIC. The reason we insure your accounts is so that you can keep your money in the bank. This keeps the banks strong. If you were to take back your money and put it in a hole in the ground then the banks would have no way to play their parts in the economy.
Along with staying calm I ask for us all to spend the next few months living frugally. This doesn't necessarily mean tightening our belts, but it does mean simply paying attention to what we are spending our money on. If you want to make sure that your money is safe start with looking at how most of us loose most of our money, living beyond our means.
If we simply spend wisely and save over the coming times we will soon be able to bring our economy back to where it was not too long ago.
You do that and I will keep of my end of the deal.
My friends, I know we are all worried about the economy right now, but fear not. Yes, we are experiencing one of the hardest economic times in recent memory, but things are still good. We still have food to eat and are coming together to make sure we all have a roof over our heads. It could be worse. Remember this.
Now I won't stand here and say that the economy is hunky-dory and we are doing just fine. Everyone from the investors on Wall Street to the corn growers in Iowa know that we are being effected by the bad decisions of a few institutions.
I will tell you this, however it is going to get better very soon. America cannot be kept down. We will bound back and be even stronger than ever.
Now in order to do this we much all stand strong and stand together.
As president, I will do my part to make sure that the government is watching out for its citizens. I will make sure that our workers, with every color collar, do not go without the basic things we need in life. To ensure a healthy democracy we need healthy people out there doing what needs to be done.
That said, I want you to know that the huge businesses that helped cause this mess will likely not be around much longer. The government will help the people. That's its job. But we will not provide a free pass to those who cannot create a stable marketplace for our investments.
This is what I will do. While we are concerned about specifics right now, I promise that this spirit will be in whatever economic plans I support.
Now this isn't enough however. I need, We need, America needs you all to be patient. It is hard right now to sit back and watch the news and the rest of the media sound like Nostradamus soothsaying or investments away. There is the temptation to pull your money out of the economy. Don't do this.
Your savings in your bank accounts are insured. The government will pick up the slack if it came to that, but that is not an issue thanks to FDIC. The reason we insure your accounts is so that you can keep your money in the bank. This keeps the banks strong. If you were to take back your money and put it in a hole in the ground then the banks would have no way to play their parts in the economy.
Along with staying calm I ask for us all to spend the next few months living frugally. This doesn't necessarily mean tightening our belts, but it does mean simply paying attention to what we are spending our money on. If you want to make sure that your money is safe start with looking at how most of us loose most of our money, living beyond our means.
If we simply spend wisely and save over the coming times we will soon be able to bring our economy back to where it was not too long ago.
You do that and I will keep of my end of the deal.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Some thoughts on the GOP
So it turns out that the GOP is really earning that Old part of their name. This doesn't really surprise me though. Not only is it the party most closely associated with old white guys, it is also the party that keeps making deals with that thrid of the US population who don't actually expect that the world will be around for the next election.
A year or two ago on my campus the president of the College Republicans was also an active member in the Young Democrats. He wasn't even really into politics, he was just a business major who wanted a nice thing to put on his resume, but enjoyed the YDs and thier parties. In fact, I seriously doubt whether or not he was even registered to vote. I do know that he was very much the type of person who would vote Republican if he could.
Now I go to a school located in what I refer to as the buckle of the Bible belt, and yet the YDs have more members than any other group on campus. It's even a public school! The reasons why the GOP is not stronger here is talked around in that article, but I think they are missing the point. Sure reaching out with modern campaign tactics is one thing, but just getting John McCain to start Twittering won't fix the party.
Here's what will:
1) Ditch the old dudes. The only really high ranking Neo-Con of the Reagan era that has not been pushed out of office or died is Cheney. The same Cheney who is hated by most Americans and seen as the guy who helped talk Bush into some of the many thing he has done in the last eight years. Clearly, he and his friends are of a dying breed. Let them and their military plans and overly scary big business connections die as well.
Also McCain... Please never let anyone his age run again unless they are some sort of rock god. Too bad all the Ramones are dead. They would have been perfect for this in a few years.
2) Ditch the Religious Right. Fell free to stay against abortion. That is a basic argument that seems to be going on in most of the 1st world. However, drop anything about any social issue that is only raised that marks your line too far into what many (young people) see as craziville. This means no more barking about a marriage amendment, talk about stem-cells, or even sex education. These are things that if you are asked about say that they are large social issues that must be put to masses to answer. In doing this you will seem not only more democratic, but also less reactionary. And we all know that reactionary is the feeling we all get when politics and religion intertwine on too deep a level.
3) Ditch the connections to the rich. The problem is that most Americans aren't rich and never plan to be. To be fair this isn't so much the GOP's fault as it is the beginning of limits in the US economy, but those limits need to be talked about. No one feels like they will be able to make their own way in the world today the same way they might have in the 50s and 60s.
4) When it comes to the economy push for quality not quanity. This is a problem that most American conservatives have. They see that as the whole pie gets bigger everyone gains more. This often doesn't quite work out in the proportional way that it should, and even when it does it just makes people feel like things aren't changing. All the economists you talk to should at least be willing to admit that Keynes was right about some things.
5) Don't ever talk about Regan or W. ever again. Regan is of a golden past that people seem to remember as being better than it was. This is because the 80s did that to people. After all, it was the decade that had mall rock. If you are going to talk about a president of the recent past, talk about Nixon. Not only is he a figure that had the strength to run again after loosing so bitterly to Kennedy, he also did a good job before the world got to him and made him do something terrible. He is flawed but at least he lacks the cheese of Regan-worship. And as far as W., well lets just say that he will the the most popular president for a long time if only because he didn't do anything good (much less all the bad he did).
*Note to anyone named Jason - I am not a Republican. I just feel like the party does have something to offer, if it could just stop being so one sided.
A year or two ago on my campus the president of the College Republicans was also an active member in the Young Democrats. He wasn't even really into politics, he was just a business major who wanted a nice thing to put on his resume, but enjoyed the YDs and thier parties. In fact, I seriously doubt whether or not he was even registered to vote. I do know that he was very much the type of person who would vote Republican if he could.
Now I go to a school located in what I refer to as the buckle of the Bible belt, and yet the YDs have more members than any other group on campus. It's even a public school! The reasons why the GOP is not stronger here is talked around in that article, but I think they are missing the point. Sure reaching out with modern campaign tactics is one thing, but just getting John McCain to start Twittering won't fix the party.
Here's what will:
1) Ditch the old dudes. The only really high ranking Neo-Con of the Reagan era that has not been pushed out of office or died is Cheney. The same Cheney who is hated by most Americans and seen as the guy who helped talk Bush into some of the many thing he has done in the last eight years. Clearly, he and his friends are of a dying breed. Let them and their military plans and overly scary big business connections die as well.
Also McCain... Please never let anyone his age run again unless they are some sort of rock god. Too bad all the Ramones are dead. They would have been perfect for this in a few years.
2) Ditch the Religious Right. Fell free to stay against abortion. That is a basic argument that seems to be going on in most of the 1st world. However, drop anything about any social issue that is only raised that marks your line too far into what many (young people) see as craziville. This means no more barking about a marriage amendment, talk about stem-cells, or even sex education. These are things that if you are asked about say that they are large social issues that must be put to masses to answer. In doing this you will seem not only more democratic, but also less reactionary. And we all know that reactionary is the feeling we all get when politics and religion intertwine on too deep a level.
3) Ditch the connections to the rich. The problem is that most Americans aren't rich and never plan to be. To be fair this isn't so much the GOP's fault as it is the beginning of limits in the US economy, but those limits need to be talked about. No one feels like they will be able to make their own way in the world today the same way they might have in the 50s and 60s.
4) When it comes to the economy push for quality not quanity. This is a problem that most American conservatives have. They see that as the whole pie gets bigger everyone gains more. This often doesn't quite work out in the proportional way that it should, and even when it does it just makes people feel like things aren't changing. All the economists you talk to should at least be willing to admit that Keynes was right about some things.
5) Don't ever talk about Regan or W. ever again. Regan is of a golden past that people seem to remember as being better than it was. This is because the 80s did that to people. After all, it was the decade that had mall rock. If you are going to talk about a president of the recent past, talk about Nixon. Not only is he a figure that had the strength to run again after loosing so bitterly to Kennedy, he also did a good job before the world got to him and made him do something terrible. He is flawed but at least he lacks the cheese of Regan-worship. And as far as W., well lets just say that he will the the most popular president for a long time if only because he didn't do anything good (much less all the bad he did).
*Note to anyone named Jason - I am not a Republican. I just feel like the party does have something to offer, if it could just stop being so one sided.
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