"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…
New York State does not have initiative and referendum at the state level. There have been several unsuccessful attempts to pass legislation that would institute it. Hopefully one day these efforts will succeed and New York State will eventually join the many states that do practice direct democracy at the state level with initiative and referendum. Initiative and referendum does exist in New York State at the local level in many municipalities, and New York City is one of them. New Yorkers are using this tool of direct democracy in an attempt to launch a new investigation into the 'events of 911' in an effort to get to the truth behind the many inconsistencies and coverup of the existing official government report. If you are a New York City resident, we encourage you to join this important grassroots effort in search of the truth. - Editor
Calling all New York City residents
and supporters of truth and justice!
Source: http://www.nyc911initiative.org/
There is widespread awareness that the events of 9/11 were never adequately investigated, and that our government has sidestepped accountability on all fronts. As a result, there is growing public desire for a more thorough re-examination of what occurred.
Now there is a grassroots action which is designed to obtain an honest, independent investigation of 9/11 by placing an initiative on the ballot of the Nov. 6th, 2008 general election allowing registered New York City voters to create a new Commission.
YOU can help achieve the goal of passing this important referendum by becoming a part of a historic campaign called the NYC 911 Ballot Initiative.
If you are a New York City resident you can sign our petition, volunteer to help, and donate, all in the cause of placing the issue of a new investigation of 9/11 on the NYC ballot. We suggest reading the Instructions first, then downloading the petition which is on the same page.
If you're not a resident, you can direct all your friends and family in New York City to this site and urge them to sign our petition and volunteer. Also, you can also donate to the cause. You will be contributing to the momentum we are creating to call for an impartial, independent investigation of the most consequential event of our time. If you live near New York City, you can help with our petition drive and help us build an army of volunteers. We need hundreds of people willing to put in 20-30 hours between now and the end of June!
We ask that EVERYONE sign our Guest Book so we can keep you informed of important developments and create a huge network for truth and justice. At the very least, we urge you to spend 10-15 minutes to review this important information and see the difference you can make in this all-important cause. Creating mass awareness will be invaluable to the success of this effort.
Here's the plan. We must get 30,000 valid petition signatures of registered New York City voters as quickly as possible. To ensure we reach this goal, we are aiming for 100,000 signatures. Our target date is June 30th. At that time our petition will be reviewed by New York City Council. On July 1st we'll begin gathering another 15,000 signatures which will override City Council if they decide to reject our proposal.
If you're not a registered voter, you can register here. Also, you can volunteer to help us with our petition drive. If you know of organizations who will endorse this campaign and notify their membership, please contact us right away.
As New Yorkers we deserve a meaningful and transparent process
to reveal to the fullest extent possible what really happened
leading up to, on 9/11, and the period that followed.
The nation, and indeed the world will benefit from our efforts
to obtain truth, accountability, and justice.
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