I have heard people ask what they can do. Politicians (past, present, future, wannabes) need to know that when they lie, steal, con, destroy our democracy, freedoms, and rights, there are consequences. So, here are some suggestions:
Smaller Things:
– If I unexpectedly encounter a politician, or any member of their family, I turn my back on them and walk away.
– I try to avoid any event where the turdits will be. Or if I feel a need to attend, then, when the turdit speaks, again I turn my back and walk away until they are finished with their self-serving, campaigning, talking points.
– I will not serve on any board or committee that has a politician or a member of their family.
– I try to avoid purchases from company’s owned by politicians and their family members. For example, I never ate at an A & W because I knew at least two were owned by a politician, but I didn’t know which two.
– I try to avoid purchases from large corporations that hire politicians or their family members. If I think I need something from one of these stores then I first consider if there is an alternative method (ex DIY product), can I do without or buy second hand, etc. And, for example, I did not listen to a certain radio station that hired turdits.
– And I do not join organizations (usually non-profits) run by politicians. They use others (the slaves) to do all the work while the politician gets the attention. They don’t care if their organization accomplishes anything because it’s primary purpose is to get the politician attention.
– I won’t take a course, etc. taught by a politician
– And I don’t buy their books, although I may read it in the library to see if it is a white-wash. I don’t fall for that “Oh, now that I am out of politics, I see the error of my ways and besides I want to make more money off the suckers called citizens”.
– You could start a website that lists where the politicians get their next job, directorships or other remunerations/gifts, and companies they own. When a politician has been hired by a company it says a lot about the ethics and integrity of the company so I don’t purchase their products or I minimize what I do buy. Plus the job may have been paid for by the people, if the politician gave the corporation “special consideration”.
– You could have a protest at election time to let politicians know you are not voting for them because they don’t deserve your vote so politicians can’t use the line that the people are just apathetic. Or start the “Do Not Vote” party for all those who are offended by the political options and peopIe can sign their name, on election day, at the party’s site
– You could start a website the allows people to input their ideas on what we can do.
– You could start a website that tracks what politicians DO, not what they say (thanks Lynn)
Bigger Things (or Overall Change):
The system is broken. We need, as a group, to fix it. Eventually intelligence or disaster (and I expect it will be the latter) will force people to make a change. We need to be prepared to provide an alternative system or nothing will really change, except the faces.
So I suggest that someone(s) set up a website (people with more advanced tech skills than mine) to allow people to input their ideas for a new governing system; a system that gives the people control. Someone(s) with no agenda but to find a real democratic system. We will need to know who runs the website so we can be sure that it isn’t one of the politicians, their friends or their shills.
We can create a framework and start to fill in the parts. I think of it like a puzzle, but with parts (or pieces) that may be interchangeable, that may be modified, or removed as circumstances change and as we (hopefully) evolve.
We can start groups to discuss new ideas or ideas listed on the website, research and submit ideas, and how they can be implemented, or we can do this individually; You can network with other groups/individuals to “brainstorm’ new ideas. You can also recommend books, websites, etc. for others to review, how-to’s, information, definitions, maybe like-minded people getting together to do something specific, etc. In essence, identify what we want, what routes are available to get there, and what can we do now.
I’ve heard that the Yukon, Nunavat, and the Zapatistas have interesting systems. Some elements may be worth considering.
I have heard that there were democratic societies but they were destroyed by the 1%. If this is true then we may not have to reinvent the wheel. But we will need to know about these societies.
We need to have a say in what is happening to us and our country all the time, not just some phony vote every four or so years. Some people suggest direct democracy – voting issue by issue; others claim this would be time-consuming. But would it be time-consuming if something actually got done? It seems, right now, we just keep going over the same issues, nothing gets solved, nothing gets accomplished; the children are not being cared for, the homeless are homeless, our industries are disappearing, jobs are disappearing, the environment is not being cared for. Maybe we just need a REAL plan, an ability to hire the most qualified people in Canada and then the issues would be fewer.
Also, I wonder if there is a way of organizing society in a horizontal, sharing method vs the vertical, hierarchical, power structure that we now have; a web-like organization, with people operating in different “nodes” to reinforce the interconnectedness and reduce/eliminate power struggles. I have seen concepts of this but not in terms of overall society. Perhaps this could be discussed if a website is setup or, if it has already been discussed, that could appear on the website for discussion with other ideas.
A suggested way to start:
Stage/Step 1 – Knowing that what we have doesn’t work
Stage/Step 2 – Ask questions – what do we want, what don’t we want
Stage/Step 3 – Research other systems, including small groups of people that may have a workable form of democracy.
Stage/Step 4 – We need some standard information but also some “out of the box” thinking. Read/study on creative thinking, how to think outside the box, brainstorming (or just do it) and then use that to generate new ideas. When brainstoming, any idea is a good idea no matter how strange it may seem. It’s to be decided later if all, or a part of the idea, fits into where we want to go or maybe the idea will be useful at a later time.
Stage/Step 5 – Create a framework of a system or more than one and later decide which is preferred. A system that allows for changes. Our current system is too rigid and serves the wrong people.
Stage/Step 6 – Work on details, see the effect one thing has on other things that have been determined to be important to people’s lives, work on compromises for contentious elements. Determine if step 5 meets our (all life forms/the planet) needs. Each step will likely require going back and revising one or more parts in prior steps and moving forward again and you keep doing this until things fit.
Stage/Step 7 – Implement. This will likely have to be done in a mixture of small and large steps working around politicians and their friends. These people will do everything they can to disrupt and destroy this process because it does not serve them. What will they do without the slaves? What will they do if they can’t think themselves “better” than other people?
Stage/Step 8 – Adjust what doesn’t work or start again. At least this time we will have a clearer idea why something does or does not work. And it does need to be a system where NO ONE, NO GROUP can be in control because these people will corrupt the system until it only serves them. And this must be a system that can evolve.
And, of course, when the website is setup you have to let people know it’s there.
I believe that this has to be a Canadian effort for Canada. This does not mean that foreigners cannot input ideas. But they have to be identified as foreigners. We need to know what is wanted by Canadians for Canada. Others can use it as a template to change their system if they choose.
If we know where we want to go, we can figure out how to get there and the trade-offs and we can keep doing this with every issue. Right now we have no idea what is happening because of the lies and the culture of secrecy.
If we create a vision forward, a plan, maybe Canadians will build/create it, one step at a time; a plan which includes all Canadians, which gives them a voice, a REAL role in their own governance. At the very least we will have an backup plan WE WANT, “when we decide we need it”.
It can be done but it requires work and time. There are groups/websites, etc. with ideas on how to save the environment, on the economy, on so many things. But nothing can change with our current system because the politicians and their friends won’t allow it. Now we need grassroots to design a new system. When change happens will we be ready for it or will we, in desperation, take whatever is offered to us or forced on us?
There is a cost to doing nothing. So, the real question is – Is saving the life forms, the planet, having a real democracy, ending our enslavement, poverty, and so on, worth it to you???
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality!
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete!”
— Buckminster Fuller
If anyone creates any of these websites please let me know. You can reach me at the comment section of my blog or my email: searcher@teksavvy.com.