About

“Governments are instituted among men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed,-That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is The Right of the People to alter or to abolish it; and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

This quote from the American Declaration of Independence was written on July 4, 1776 – it was written because the authors realized that those who governed them did not have their best interests in mind and they had no redress of grievances to correct the injustice imposed on them by the British Crown. This is why words like “the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it (government) were in the Declaration. This is the heritage of all Americans today; but most Americans sit by quietly as daily reports appear in newspapers of lobbyists and other “special interests” that are involved in government in a more intimate way than they are.

Has the time come again when we are to “Alter or Abolish” our government? Well to “Abolish” means revolution which can be unnecessarly traumatic to the nation which makes “Abolish” worth avoiding; but has a time come to use the gentler option, “Alter” government as we know it? This can be done with petitions and amendments that can be time consuming but peaceful.

It has to be realized that the American Constitution was written in a world of horse drawn carriages, sailing ships, slavery and muzzle loading muskets. Today we have technologies that were not even heard of in colonial days. We have weapons that can destroy an entire city in an instant, we have technologies today that were not even heard of in colonial days; the electronics industries, the plastics industries, petro chemicals, a mass communication system of cell phones, Ipods, Twitters, the internet and space travel. In colonial days it could take two to three months to send and receive a letter from Europe. Today you can talk to most people in the world in real time by telephone. Today we talk differently, have different values and live completely different life styles than our forefathers.

But yet when we go to vote, its like we step back into a time warp where we’re using governing procedures that are over 200 years old. There’s no reason why the Constitution can not be updated to preserve its principles by making it a real living document that applies to everybody today. In fact the means and legality to amend the Constitution is included in it. Democracy can be made as convenient as a click of a mouse button or a visit to a permanently installed ATM style voting machine so that the people have a real voice in the decision making process of government.

The corporation money flowing into government and the massive debt the government is causing are bringing us close to bankruptcy. Has this once again put us in the position where we have to decide if we are to “Alter” government as we know it. To this end Direct Democracy TV has been established as a debate forum where citizens can debate issues and all citizens can vote on the debated issue by email. Perhaps a few laws about government operations can solve this issue. If an electronic democracy is to be the new form of government we are to live by, or if there is another new form of government to be established, we can not say. This is for the people to decide; But Direct Democracy TV has been established as a forum so that the people can debate this issue.

Let the debate begin.