[EM] Feeling left out in Sefton
Fred Gohlke
fredgohlke at verizon.net
Tue Sep 23 05:05:57 PDT 2008
Good Morning, Michael
(First of all, I just found a message from you to me on September 8th.
I ran across it by accident. I apologize for missing it. Perhaps it
would be better if you clicked on the link with my name at the very top
of my posts. When you do that your message comes to me by email. I'll
try to respond to the September 8th message as soon as I can. flg.)
re: "Could the method leave electors feeling left out? Suppose I
am an elector. I participate in a level 1 triad, but go no
further. The decision process then bubbles up through the
higher triads. This takes about 3 months. During this
period, can I have any influence on the outcome?"
Those who do not advance beyond the lowest levels no longer
influence the selection process. Some, as you suggest, may feel
'left out', particularly since our interest in politics waxes and
wanes throughout our lives. That feeling may, and should, spur
us to try harder in the next election. Some may not have the
talent to advance beyond the lower levels, but, some will hone
their skills, advance, and become leaders.
The important thing is that they have the opportunity.
(I'm adding a footnote on this topic.)
re: "My concern is a feeling of distance. Mass voting gave me
immediacy and equality (however illusory). We all had a
single vote, and we decided the issue in a day. Suppose
detractors are harping on this very point. Can the new
process stand up to their attacks? If it is not popular,
it will fail."
The parenthetical expression 'however illusory' is a serious
reservation. As much as some people get a sense of immediacy and
equality, others are alienated by being called upon to vote on
people and issues chosen by others. That is one of the reasons
for the lag in voter turnout.
I don't think it's widely recognized (except by political
professionals), but public involvement in political affairs is
adversely affected by the confrontational nature of partisan
politics. The significance of adversarial relationships is
greatest for the principals. Thereafter, it diminishes as the
distance from the adversaries grows. This is evident in all
conflicts from sports and games to politics and war. Partisan
politics puts most people on the periphery, remote from the
process. Their interest lags and they don't participate. The
only way to raise the interest of the people on the periphery is
to make them part of the process.
Footnote:
There is a possible exception to the exclusion for those at the
upper levels who do not advance. The proposal, as prepared for
the Sefton Municipal Council, is for the selection of candidates
for the council. The original proposal is more extensive. It
includes the following:
"The public has a tendency to think of elections in terms of
just a few offices: a congressional seat, a senate race, and
so forth. There are, however, a large number of elected
officials who fill township, county, state and federal
offices. The structure outlined here provides qualified
candidates for those offices, as follows:
At a predefined level (determined by the number of offices
to be filled), the two candidates not selected to advance
to the next level move into a parallel process leading to
selection for offices; first in the local, then the
county, then the state, and, finally, the national
governments."
An additional provision, suggested by a colleague but not yet
added to the text of the proposal, is that those not selected at
the uppermost levels become a pool of validated candidates from
which appointive offices must be filled.
Fred
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