"THESE ARE THE TIMES THAT TRY MEN"S SOULS"...AGAIN... TIME FOR PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY?
We as Americans all remember being taught when we were young about our nation's founders, the patriots who stood up to the tyranny of the crown of England, the drafters of the declaration of independence, the constitution, and the bill of rights, the documents that became the framework for a system of governance that they believed would maintain a balance of power within a truly representative government, that would preserve the basic rights and liberties of the people, let their voice be heard, and provide to them a government, as Lincoln later put it, "of the people, by the people, and for the people."
What we may not be so quick to recall, however, is that there was much debate between the founding fathers as to what model our system of government should follow. Those such as Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and Patrick Henry on one side favored a pure and direct democracy with the legislative power vested in the very hands of the people, while others such as James Madison, John Adams and George Washington held that a representative democracy would better serve the people than a true democracy because they believed it would protect the individual liberties of the minority from the will of the majority. Alexander Hamilton even went so far as to support the creation of a monarchy. In the end, those favoring representative democracy won the day and that is the system they put in place in the hopes of creating a "more perfect union."
Now we must ask ourselves, what would the founding fathers think if they were resurrected today to see what has become of their vision? One can only assume that they would begin to search for modern day patriots to meet them once again at the liberty tree in order to plan a new struggle for freedom and self governance. Although we continue to praise and honor those who founded our nation and sought to create a truly just form of government for it, do we really stop to reflect on whether we as a nation have in fact succeeded in preserving what they fought so hard to create?
Today, in contrast to our revolutionary ancestors, we as citizens of the United States generally observe politics from afar and the vast majority of us may participate in the political process only to the extent that we go to the polls once a year to vote. Over the decades and centuries we have allowed the erosion of the ideals of the founding fathers and the corruption of the principles which they enshrined in those so carefully conceived documents. We have been left with essentially no real power to influence our "democratically" elected officials. We may write an occasional letter to our senator or representative that generates a form letter in response and a statistical data entry that may or may not be weighed against the influence of some powerful corporate lobby. We may be permitted to participate in a march or demonstration of thousands or even millions, something our patriots of old would have marvelled at, only to be dismissed as a 'focus group' with no bearing on policy decisions.
How then is the government held accountable to the voice of the people? Are the people meant to speak only at the polls when given a choice between a select few candidates that may be equally corrupt? No, as Jefferson and his allies rightly believed, the people should be heard much more than that.
In spite of their good intentions, the system of representative democracy that the founding fathers opted for has been systematically undermined and has ultimately failed in preserving the well being of the people of this nation. Most of us accept this reality as being beyond our control and continue to observe, comment, and complain without aspiring to achieving any real change. Our local leaders and activists in our communities, and even those local elected officials who may have the best of intentions are for the most part powerless to make real positive change happen in our neighborhoods, towns and villages when there is so much corruption from above.
We have become so accustomed to this failed system of representative democracy that it may not occur to us that there are other alternative forms of democracy. In various places around the world participatory or direct democracy has been instituted both in concert with representative democracy, and as a replacement for it. It is a form of democracy that is designed to take directly into account your views, and the views of your neighbors, and to politically empower you to make real positive change possible in your communities. Initiative, referendum & recall, community councils, and grassroots organizing are but a few ways in which direct/participatory democracy is achieving great success around the world.
This site will attempt to explore in depth the concept of participatory democracy and how this grass-roots based form of governance could help bring us back in line with the principles this country was founded upon if it were allowed to take root here. In the hope that one day we can become a nation working together as a united people practicing true democracy as true equals, we open this forum…
Simple autonomous initiatives such as the one highlighted by the following article in a small town paper are a way for local governments to open up the political process and increase direct and participatory democracy by inviting citizen engagement and involvement at the grassroots level. Widespread practices such as this would provide people with a voice and stimulate participation on a larger scale nationwide, especially if they were taken a step further by insituting participatory budgeting as well. - Editor
Germantown Welcomes Public Input
By Lyndee Kemmett, Special to the Freeman
03/02/2008
Source: http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=19350505&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74969&rfi=8
GERMANTOWN - To encourage a dialogue between town officials and residents, Germantown officials will host a series of open meetings starting Thursday.
The Thursday session will be at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall on Palatine Park Road.
At a Town Board meeting last week, Supervisor Roy Brown called the forum an opportunity for residents to voice their views on any topic that concerns them.
"There is no agenda," he said. "It's just open to discuss whatever people have in mind."
One likely topic was raised at the board meeting by Kay Abraham, head of the town's Democratic Party, who urged the board to move forward in adopting the town's Comprehensive Plan.
The town recently created a rezoning committee that is expected to review the town's zoning ordinance - a recommendation of the draft Comprehensive Plan. Brown said the town is seeking guidance from experts at Pace University on both rezoning and adopting the Comprehensive Plan.
The rezoning committee will have its first meeting at 7 p.m. Monday.
- Also at the board meeting last week:
- It was announced that the town now has a completed draft of a new policy and procedures manual for the town Police Department.
- Board members threw their support behind a plan by Caleb Fieser to clean up 18 miles of the Roeliff Jansen Kill. Fieser is planning to fund the project by holding a canoe race around Memorial Day weekend.
- The board agreed to plant a tree and install a bench on town property in memory of resident Martha Lorenz van Allen.
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