A Perceptive Piece on Politics

Here's a short, thoughtful and insightful commentary to peruse over the weekend:

Debate versus Division - The Polarization of America by Mark Lloyd

"One of the trends that has most disturbed me, observing over the last 8 years, is the gradual demise and now the almost total lack of political dialogue in this country.

I am not talking about the media. Corporations control the mainstream, and honest debate and reporting of the facts and the truth has been marginalized. Even PBS has become a disappointment. But it is what it is. And it will inevitably change.

What I am talking about is simply conversations on a golf course. Grassroots debate, if you will pardon the pun - the basic exchange of information and ideas that keeps a free democracy healthy from the ground up.

...In a time when grassroots debate has become almost irrelevant to the outcome of elections, in a time of rampant gerrymandering, Diebold machines, televised faux-debates with earpieces and teleprompters, and winners winning because they have the most money, perhaps this dearth of debate no longer matters.

But it matters to me. To millions of regular Americans. Diehard rightwingers like my friends seem to have adopted the tactics of their beloved leader. When faced with Facts and Truth and Alternatives - first ignore or deny - then spin and attack. No debate."

Comments

[Dave]

How about forming an open source democracy project. The ultimate project goal could be to elect someone to run as an independent in an upcoming federal election.

Developing an entirly new and seperate electioning system should prove to be fun and get lots of discussions going about the fundementals of what democracy can/should be.