Democracy

The pitfall that stumbles most movements is the development of an elite group who dominate rather than facilitate. American democracy, which is not pure democracy but representative republicanism, has fallen victim to this pitfall. As communication technology makes true democracy more possible than ever, those in power have chosen to assert their power over the people with the help of Wall Street and lobbyists representing the wealthy. Politicians seek to tell the American people what they should want.

The Defense of Marriage Act is a good example. Polling shows a majority of Americans support civil unions or marriage for same-sex couples. Consistently Right Wing politicians stir up homophobia in a minority base to defeat legislation which would bring national LGBT equality on this issue. This is about their domination of government, not morality. It is an anti-democratic process.

Why would a modern democracy have to depend on privately funded polls to determine "the will of the people"? The answer is simple, those who hold the vast majority of wealth and power in America do not want to share it with the 80% of the population who do not. This is plutocracy or oligarchy. It is not a democracy.

Religion's effect on the American political scene has left scars. Vigorous debate on real issues has narrowed to party compliance, like the inevitable sectarianism of all religions. The Tea Party movement is not reformation. This is a form of distraction from the reality of inequality and domination of the many by the few. Religions are built on the domination of the many by the few.

The founding of the United States was a form of facilitated group process. It was a long process of debate and disagreement. It quickly morphed into party politics as the group process, a more democratic process, descended into republicanism, the all-or-nothing battle for control between political elites.

Human beings, regardless of nationality, have a new paradigm within their reach. The Arab Spring and the Occupy Wall Street movements have utilized the tools of this paradigm. Mass communication devices have made the actual will of the people available at any given time on any given issue. No need for pressing thumbs onto ink pads in elaborate and easily corrupted elections. Thumbs on touch pads can reveal the truth of popular opinion in seconds. This reality is a potential knife blade at the throat of any dictator or oligarch whose wealth and power depend on armed domination and lies. In America, it is a tool of manipulation in the hands of those who resist making this power a power of all the people for governmental action. Those who control this technology are aligned with those who dominate.

Private polling is propaganda, not democratic sounding. Why is there no government polling of the constituencies it is supposed to represent? The answer is simple, the political class, puppets of the wealthy, will not let this happen. They will not simplify legislation to a clear, readable language and post it on the Web for the populace to read and vote their preference. They will not post true debates on the issues on such a Web site available to all Americans in any public library. They have done everything possible to stand in the way of nationally available broadband communication. They are closing libraries with their fiscal decisions. They have done everything possible to stand in the way of universally excellent public education.

I experience great joy from the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Boston movements. These new activists have approached government with a facilitated group process not unlike the process that made America. No hollow yowling about canonized Founders in these ranks. No, these activists are about the hard work of democracy for the common good. They know that facilitation, not domination, is the way to keep democracy alive or to revive a democracy that is nearly suffocated by greed and hypocrisy.