Anonymous, the mostly online group that supports civil disobedience and causes mayhem with their frequent denial of service attacks of various government and corporate websites, now appears to be calling for the creation of a new political party.
Anonymous has been in the news lately as one of the supporting groups promoting the Occupy Wall Street protest. Today they surfaced an editorial from one of their members urging the OWS movement to turn into an organized political party. The reaction from Anonymous commenters has been mixed, thus far…
(UPDATE: Business Insider picked up on this.)
A Sincere Proposal
In my observation of this movement of the American people, I have begun recently to hear/read suggestions that a revolt might be brewing. I understand why people are saying these things, but I think we can all agree that it would be best to avoid such an outcome. So, I have a proposition, a vision for what we as a nation could achieve.
Currently, the media mocks us, the police beat and arrest us, the business people laugh at us, and every politician in the United States of America is wondering how to sway the full support of the movement in their favor. Each of these groups understands the true power of the 99%. They see us as votes, wasted potential, criminals and a story to keep the viewers at home watching through commercial breaks.
We need to be honest with ourselves: given the current viable options (Republican/Democrat), we cannot vote our way out of this mess that our government and the financial institutions created. It’s as simple as that. Furthermore, any actions taken by the governing body will be meant to placate the masses.
If you cast a vote for a Democrat, you cast a vote for the status quo. If you cast a vote for a Republican, you cast a vote for the status quo. I don’t care if you are a libertarian, anarchist, communist, leftist, right-winger or a completely disillusioned non-voter; you must recognize that this nation’s current political structure is not equipped to fix the problems this nation is facing. If our politicians refuse to work together in the interests of the people, the two party system cannot carry us safely or securely into the future.
And so, we face possibly the most challenging moment in this nation’s history, since the Civil War. We need ideas to avoid a revolution and ways to reign in the policy makers of this country. Our elected officials need to work for us, not against us. So, I offer this path to a better, more accountable nation.
I propose a new political party, one that will always work in the interests of the 99%.
I’m sure we all understand the concept of a republic, but if some need to be reminded, I believe this quote from wikipedia should be sufficient:
“A republic is a country with a specific type of form of government, in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government, at least in theory, and where offices of state are not granted primarily based upon family, military, or business connections.”
Unfortunately, republics are extremely difficult to maintain. It’s impossible to educate oneself on every issue which requires a vote. It’s difficult for people to find the time to vote.
It would obviously be difficult to establish a pure republic in the United States of America. However, we could have a party that is bound to the will of the people.
Let’s assume we can communicate the votes of the individual to an elected representative of this theoretical party. Given its feasibility, it would look something like this:
1. Each person of voting age in a district that is represented by a member of this theoretical party is entitled to one ‘vote.’ Remember, this is not a legitimate federal vote. It is merely a ‘speaking up’ of the entirety of a representative’s constituency. The people’s votes are then tallied, and the representative, being bound to the will of the people, will vote as directed.
2. Each person of voting age in these districts may choose to actively vote, passively vote or not vote.
- An active vote is a Yes or No vote chosen by the individual.
- A passive vote is a vote as the Democratic majority votes or vote as the Republican majority votes.
- A choice not to vote on a particular issue is a forfeiture of the right to to vote on that particular issue.
3. Each person of voting age has the right to open a petition for a vote.
A system similar to the one outlined above could drastically alter the course of this nation without a revolution. Given enough popular support, people across the nation could petition their representatives for a vote on a certain issue.
We are the 99%. This proposed party can become a reality. Change is possible. So, when our nation’s politicians look at you and say, “We can’t…” respond, “…But we can!”
Keep it peaceful.
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