[EM] language/framing quibble

[Fred Gohlke]

Good Morning, Kristofer

This portion of our discussion has been about using the inherent 
bidirectionality of the Practical Democracy process.  The process is 
designed to select the best of our people to represent us in our 
elective offices, whether in a Congressional or Parliamentary system, or 
in a city council.  The basic thesis is that, by exercising greater care 
in selecting our representatives, we will have less need to monitor them 
after they are elected.  Even so, some degree of public supervision of 
our elected officials is necessary and we are discussing that aspect of 
the process.

I will use the term 'pyramid' to indicate the members of the electorate 
who participated in the selection of a public official.  'Pyramids' are 
defined from the elected official, downward, and every person that 
participated in an official's selection is a member of that official's 
'pyramid'.  Hence, everyone in the electorate is a member of multiple 
'pyramids', one for each person they put in public office.

In terms of initiating a recall or suggesting a course of action or 
change of position, my suggestion is that every member of the electorate 
have the right to petition (i.e., submit questions, comments or 
proposals to) their elected officials.  They do so by submitting their 
petition to the body that maintains the electoral database and that body 
must transmit the petition to the official and to all the other people 
in the official's 'pyramid'.  The petition need only name the public 
official, the database will identify the members of that official's 
'pyramid'.

When other members of the 'pyramid' receive such petitions they may 
support them or discard them, as they see fit,  If a petition is 
supported by a majority of the members of the 'pyramid' it becomes an 
instruction to the official.  Even if a petition does not achieve a 
majority, if it achieves notable support, it will influence any official 
not bent on self-destruction.  This is infinitely more effective than 
the current method of writing letters to officials ... and the 
meaningless responses they generate.

I believe, given the repetitive nature of elections, this method will 
allow adequate supervision of our elected officials.  It will also 
encourage the submission and consideration of minority views.

Fred