Voting, Patriotism and All That Jazz

A discussion over on Dave Dubya's Freedom Rants got me thinking about the solution to the problems we are all so worried about.

This is something that I really want to write about in depth, but for now I would like to propose some meandering thoughts on how to quell the corruption and indifference and self serving interests that we see in our current form of government. Solving this would certainly solve a lot of other problems that we are facing. Uncorrupted representatives would actually work to serve the constituents who elected him or her to their current position. Judgments and alliances wouldn't be made under the guise of good, but in reality be for the benefit of a few - be it monetary gain or simply career catapulting moves.

I've touched on this subject before, in the Anarchist's education overhaul post. First and foremost, if we must have a government (which by the standards of many, we must no matter how much I disagree) then we must remind the people in the government positions that they are servants. They work for us. They are not power laden individuals who are above the law. They are not there to line their pockets and fill their A list books and propel their career. The job entails working to create and foster a country with programs and policies that benefit the people who live in the country. So a few of the changes that I would recommend are;

A) Stricter term limits - for all branches of government. From town mayors to presidents to judges on the supreme court. No more permanent positions - anywhere. Senators and congressman can only have so many terms before they must step down permanently. Stricter rules about who may run for president. In order to avoid a dynasty style government - I think it would be wise to prevent immediate family members of presidents to run for president. Children, cousins, spouses etc... If they have already lived in the Whitehouse, or visited enough times that they might as well have lived there, then they are out. They can't run for president.

B) Who may run - I think actually lowering the age of candidates would be a good idea. Lets get some fresh blood in there. Lets get some idealists and optimists and not-yet-corrupted individuals in there. There are always the older, wiser advisors to help younger candidates out if they lack experience in certain areas - but lets face it, younger generations bring fresh perspectives, and fresh perspectives are usually a good thing.

C) Get corporations out of the game. Large financial contributions in return for favors should be stopped now. Let the candidates raise funds by appealing to the voters - not the corporations. (Changing the idea that corporations are considered "individuals" with the same rights as you and I have would be a great start).

D) Change the way the "nominee" game is played. No more national bipartisan nominations. Start the election process (for president anyway) in each local town - where real people can vote on a local level who they would like to see progress to the next level (state) then once the states have picked their nominee let the nation start narrowing down from there. Its like American Idol - so folks should be able to get the concept. It'll be a tough adjustment at first - but I think if we could just get the hang of it, we would have access to a number of fresh candidates that we would never have had before. Fresh is best.

E) Get rid of the electoral college - and of course, put a PolySci course in every school starting in grade school.

For now, those are my basic thoughts on it. I want to expand them, experiment with them, and see where they lead. Even if those ideas get scrapped - I think its safe to say that something new must be done. It is our patriotic duty to see that it is.