[EM] Small National Assembly. Bottom-Up Government.

[Fred Gohlke]

Good Morning, Michael

re: "The next step would be spontaneous demand for democracy."

You've mentioned this several times, and emphasized that it would occur 
without leaders or organizers.  That's unrealistic.  The realities of 
life, particularly our economic needs, tend to distract us from serious 
thought about public concerns.  When, as in the United States, the 
political infrastructure militates against public decision-making, the 
people's political talents atrophy.

One of the difficulties in achieving democracy is that true democracy 
offers no rewards for individuals or vested interests; it gives no 
individual or group an advantage over others.  Hence, it offers no 
incentive for power-seeking individuals or groups to advocate its 
adoption.  We will only achieve democracy when those of us with an 
interest in the topic take the time to create a framework in which 
citizens are encouraged to discuss their political concerns with their 
peers and elevate the best advocates of the common interest to public 
office.


re: "I wouldn't equate parties in general to the Nazi party."

All ideologies, whether of the right or the left, differ from National 
Socialism only in the extent to which their partisans are able to impose 
their biases on the public.  We may get a demonstration of that in the 
U. S., in the next couple of years.  One party has gained control of the 
Executive and Legislative branches of our government.  As a result, the 
checks and balances provided by our Constitution will be ineffective.

Partisanship is a vital part of society, provided it is always a voice 
and never a power.  The danger is not in partisanship, it is in allowing 
partisans to control government.


re: "This country has problems much worse than having parties.
      The Democrat and Republican parties are a result, not the
      cause, of those problems."

In terms of our government, what could be worse than the parties telling 
us who we can vote for?  Voting for a party's candidates is not evidence 
of free choice, it shows that we are slaves of the parties that deny us 
the right to make our own decisions.  The parties know, and thrive on 
the simple fact that those who set the options control the outcome.


re: "... in the long run, people who harm are the main
      recipients of their harm, and their own main victims."

I once thought there was a similarity in our views.  I was wrong.

Fred Gohlke