Are you tired of just fuming about politicians at the dinner table?
You too can do something to help improve democracy in the United States, and it involved more than just talking about it with friends at the dinner table. One of your first reactions may actually be that there is no use in following pipe dreams, because haven't we seen them all before? The Green Party, the Reform Party, Ralph Nader, Ross Perot? Where are they now? And yet their efforts were not in vain. They provided all of us the knowledge that changing the political theatre is not easy; it taught us that the Democratic Party and the Republican Party have a firm and solid grip on our political system that is not easily conquered by a new party. There are good reasons wanting to not change too much, but to be stuck with the same old politics was probably also not the intention of our forefathers.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could start out new without being stuck with the same old Republican and Democratic parties? No other nation boosts about freedom as much as we do in the United States, while it is only one of three nations that still has the archaic form of democracy. Britain, Australia, and the United States are the only three nations where two parties have been in control in the last sixty years. How's that for freedom?
New Zealand was the last nation to change its political system from the archaic district elections to that of the modern proportional democracy in the late nineties. Though this change was welcomed much in New Zealand and has delivered its promise of democratizing the process and the involvement of the people, it is going to be a tremendously difficult task to get the same change occur in the United States. This is a very large nation where people basically disagree on everything, and it will be impossible to have the people, and even more so the two parties, unite to change the system; our constitution does not allow for it on the Federal level and amending the constitution is possible but very difficult. Despite the generally agreed dissatisfaction and most Americans wanting change at the federal level: it will not happen.
But we are ready for some change. How about you?
The only way to change the system is by using the system itself to create the change. Some have tried it before without much success. It can be done by creating a Reform Party or a Green Party, but as long as these two brave parties do not talk about real change they cannot make change happen. They are eager to take in the place now occupied by the Democrats and the Republicans, but then they are will not truly become the change, they will just be replacements. Even when one of the two alternatives would become so powerful that it became politically significant, it would only live side by side with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party for a few elections and then one of the three would automatically start to fade, leaving us with only two parties again. In a way, this nation is so heterogeneous and homogeneous at the same time that ultimately only two parties survive all of the time. And... we are still ready for some change.
What we need is a party that can use the current system to its advantage, while remaining non-conforming at the same time. That means the set-up should not be too complicated nor politically extreme; it should be strong in connecting to what people desire from their politicians, giving them the leading role, while embracing the fact that we are all different people with differing needs. A good way out is when a party is set up that follows the election regulations, but only where it wants to follow them. In the instances the party doesn't want to follow the beaten path, it simply does nothing. Here is how it works.
By not electing the heads of cities, counties, states and the federation, the Local Party delivers a clear alternative in its set up to the Republican party, the Democratic party, the Green and Reform parties by immediately being the change people desire. Without the need to go for the hottest seat in the house we can ignore the corrupting intricacies that come with higher powers and concentrate on building the local connections we truly desire from our representatives, and we can get them one by one. The Local Party does not strive to be the majority party, it strives to be the representative party for your local needs. By connecting with the local set of circumstances, by knowing the local environment of possibilities, the Local Party can deliver best what people want in the most important place of their lives: their homes and their environment, their economy and their opportunities.
By circumventing the need to become a full-flung locally, regionally, and nationally organized political party all at the same time the Local Party is able to concentrate on what matters most: the local needs.
I have read enough. Where do I go to help?