Well before any of these words were ever put to print, I did a good deal of soul searching to try and figure out whether this idea of a democratic evolution was really a good one or not. Mainly, I was worried that unintended consequences might come from transitioning true power over to the people. After all, are we ready for it? Can we really handle it, or were the founding fathers right to believe that we are better off being governed by a select few, instead of governing ourselves? Rather than try and solve these questions on my own, I went out into the world to seek the answers. Ultimately, what I found was a renewed faith in humanity that left no doubt in my mind that not only are we capable of ruling together, but this new form of government represents a hope for a better future that we all can believe in.
So what led to this conclusion exactly? Mostly it was a realization that we humans, despite each of us being entirely unique and distinct from one another, are all basically the same at our core. We are all born into this world from a woman’s womb as innocent and vulnerable infants. We are completely dependent upon other people to keep us alive, and as we grow, those people and the environments that surround us will shape who we become. No matter what we eat or where we call home, we all have the same basic survival necessities of food, drink and shelter. In an emotional sense, we all need interaction with other humans, and we all yearn to love and be loved by others. We want to feel free in our thoughts and our actions, and we want to know that our existence matters. And though we’ll do all that we can to prevent it, eventually someday, we will all take our last breath, and perish from this earth.
Yet despite all of our similarities, we have become conditioned in our modern societies to be distrusting of one another. We focus more on our differences, which instill fear and divide us. Children are taught to be wary of strangers, and as we grow older, this skepticism of others carries over. The preliminary distrust we have in one another isn’t entirely unwarranted though, as the nightly news just about everywhere gives us accounts of people doing terrible things to other people. Personally, I do believe there are some truly evil and wicked people out there in this world (terrorists, rapists, and all those who prey on the innocent), but I also believe there are some truly good and selfless ones, too (Dr. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and Honest Abe to name a few). And though I don’t have any actual empirical data to back it up, it seems to me that the truly evil and the truly good are the outliers, with the vast majority of the rest of us falling somewhere in between – like a prototypical bell curve.
We are mostly good, but inherently flawed individuals, who sometimes do bad things, particularly when we think that no one will find out, or if we think our actions will only affect us personally. Some of our flaws are more apparent than others, but we all have selfish tendencies that sometimes get the best of us. Interestingly though, when we know that what we are doing involves other people, or that our actions will have an impact on someone else, most of us will feel a greater sense of responsibility, and are more inclined to do the “right” thing than if left to our own vices and devices. We empathize and adjust our behavior accordingly, because we see ourselves in others, and realize that despite our differences, we’re actually not all that different from one another after all.
Some may disagree with this particular outlook on humanity, and take a more pessimistic (or realistic, depending upon where you stand) view that we are all simply self-serving individuals, inclined to do whatever is best for ourselves and our financial position, regardless of what is best for everyone or someone else. This economic based view of human behavior, while logical and true to an extent, fails to fully take into account the fact that we are not simply a country or a society comprised of individuals. Most of us have families and friends that are an integral part of our daily lives.
In his landmark 1776 work, The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith famously noted that a butcher sells quality meat, not out of a sense of benevolence to the common good, but rather to advance his own economic interests. While it’s true that money is certainly one reason why, it shouldn’t be ignored that the butcher also likely fed his family with the meat from his shop, along with his friends and their families. We all form relationships with one another, either through blood or by choice, and we look out for those that matter to us most. We form communities with our neighbors and the people that live around us, and most of us are more than willing to help those who cannot, as evidenced by the more than $390 billion that Americans gave to charity in 2016 alone. And so while it may be true that we are self-serving to a certain extent, we readily put away our selfishness when it comes to the other humans in our lives, particularly those that we love and care about, or those that cannot care for themselves. Our ability to love and interact with one another on a complex level is ultimately what makes us human, and what separates us from the rest of the animals living on our planet.
Regardless of whether you believe that most people are inherently good, or if you are less trusting and believe that we’re all inherently selfish individuals, the great part is that either perspective leads to the same conclusion. An evolved democracy, where the collective of all citizens is controlling, versus the current model which relies on elected individuals, is an improved way of governing.
Under the current structure, we basically ask our elected officials to be superheroes with super powers. Please put away your inherently human tendencies of selfishness, greed, and advancement of your own personal career, and go be a representative of the people. Oh yes, and please be smarter than the rest of us too, because we need you to figure out the decisions that are best for the most of us overall. We all know this is not the case, and to think that most of our elected officials fall into the truly good and selfless category of humanity, or are of the highest intellect, is just wishful thinking. Once elected, our officials are bombarded by special interest lobbyist groups and constant pressure to hold political party lines and raise funds. Yet, in the face of all that, they are supposed to put away individualized motives, ignore the millions in campaign contributions, disregard party allegiances, and make decisions that reflect the best interests of the people. C’mon, you’re kidding right?
Think about this hypothetical. Candidate Green campaigns tirelessly on a platform that when it comes to dealing with a particular issue they are going to vote X. Candidate Green gets elected, but when the time for the vote comes, Candidate Green doesn’t vote X, and votes Y instead. The constituency, or at least those that are actually paying attention, are outraged, and cannot believe the outright lies during the campaign. Publicly, Green gives an evasive answer about some irrelevant provision of the bill that changed their mind. As it turns out, however, Candidate Green was backed by a lobbyist group representing Big and Large Corporations. You see, Big and Large Corporations had a substantial interest in Candidate Green voting Y. Because, however, all of the re-election campaign contributions and speaking engagement fees paid to Green were reported, nothing was illegal, and all was above board. So what exactly is the recourse of the people who voted for Candidate Green? Theoretically they get to vote for someone else next time, but since Green is now the incumbent, there will likely be only one other choice, and that alternative choice will be from a different political party. Either way, it is too little too late, as the horse was let out of the barn when Green voted Y.
Of course in reality it’s not as simple as X and Y, but the hypothetical was simplified to illustrate the point that our current form of government is easily manipulated by special interest groups, whose sole interest is their own benefit, with no real regard for the collective whole of the people of this nation. We are not actively engaged in the process once we elect candidates to office, and we are not actively aware of who is backing them. The process is designed to give the illusion that we are in control, but in reality, it enables the status quo, and keeps the power settled where it is.
We are viewed by those who govern us, at best, as sheep, just mindless beings easily manipulated, and in need of direction as to where to go and what to do. At worst, they view us as a mob, capable of mass chaos and unspeakable violence under the wrong circumstances. While at times, these stereotypes have held true, I don’t view myself in this way, and my guess is that neither do you. We are all beautifully unique souls in this world, who feel happiness and sadness, comfort and pain, freedom and oppression all the same. We are not simple animals, and so long as our basic necessities are met and our personal safety is not directly threatened, we are not inherently prone to be violent. Together, all of us, every single one of us, contribute to the public good, and together we are capable of carrying that public good forward together. Through technology, we now have the ability to govern ourselves in a more perfect manner than any one individual or system of individuals ever could. Together, we can remove personalized agendas and partisan politics from our government, and for the first time in our history, we can give ourselves an opportunity to show the real capabilities of human cooperation.
Think about it, if it were up to you to decide on a political issue, would you be selfish and consider only yourself, or would you consider your friends, family, and your fellow citizens? I know how I would vote, if given the opportunity. But under our current structure where do you and I, and our friends and families rank with respect to what is influencing our voting officials? As the lines of separation between politics and business continue to be blurred more now than ever, it has become increasingly apparent that we, the people, are likely well down on the priority lists of our elected officials. In an evolved democracy, however, we are able to ensure that we are all the first priority. Even if we are completely selfish in how we vote, and ignore what is in the best interest of others or the greater good, we still end up with a result that reflects what the majority of us believe is the best for us individually. When compared against the current system, where most outcomes are the result of who has the most money and influence, there is no real comparison as to which model is more likely to align with the prevailing views and values of the American people.
Imagine with me for just a minute, a world in which the opinion of the people is truly meaningful, and is not simply an afterthought to the advancement of the individual agendas of power hungry politicians and money hungry corporations. If we have a process and a system that we all believe is fair, puts the people first, and is not susceptible to outright manipulation, then perhaps it will be easier to accept if a vote doesn’t go the way you or I want, and we find ourselves in a minority position. At least we can take comfort in the fact that the process was just and equal for everyone, and that no individual person mattered any more than someone else.
Maybe the disgustingly large sums spent on lobbying by special interest groups can become contributions to State budgets and social programs in an effort to gain favor from the voting public who will decide issues. Instead of wasting this money on campaign funds and efforts to brainwash us with as much smear advertising as possible, these funds could be put to good use, toward something that actually adds value to the quality of our lives and helps people. Maybe our nightly news can be about topics that actually matter and make a difference, instead of the steady stream of misery, with sports, weather, and a few feel-good fluff pieces mixed in that we get now. If we know that each of us counts the same, and that we all have a real role in the process, then perhaps we’ll all become more engaged with the political and governmental process, and put to rest the fables about the simple nature of humanity. If the power of our officials is not left unchecked, then maybe the political profession will start to attract true leaders, who put the interests of others first, ahead of their own. Together we can show once again that it means something special to be an American, and that we are a nation made up of inherently good and just people, who have faith and trust in one another despite our differences. And so maybe, just maybe, our collective belief in a fair and equal democratic process can remove the divides that have driven us apart, and bind us back together as a single nation united.
It was not all that long ago that the American form of government was a beacon of hope for the world. We provided an example of what can be accomplished through the de-centralization of power and empowerment of people. In doing so, we helped to topple many of the monarchies that previously dominated history. We showed the true power of human cooperation, the power of belief, and the power of dreams. But somewhere along our march to the top of the world, we lost our way, and stopped trusting in one another. We were led to believe that we are not smart enough, and that other smarter (and richer) people know what is best for us. We’ve been convinced to trust in the process, but the process is inherently flawed. It perpetuates greed and inequality, and allows the advancement of individual agendas over the good of the collective. When combined with our physical, ideological, and theological differences, it is no wonder the process has splintered us to the point where we have lost touch of the common good that runs through us all.
Once we realize, however, that we are all in this together, and that together we have the ability to create a system that reflects who we really are, then we can take the next logical step in our political and human evolution. I don’t know about you, but I am tired of being just another cog in an unfeeling machine, and a pawn in a game for the ultra-rich. We are more than just voters and tax dollars. We are more than just consumers and employees. We are not simple ‘sheeple.’ We are the people of these United States, complete with our thoughts and feelings, each of us with good traits and bad, flawed, yet beautiful in our own right.
If we can somehow find a way to look past our differences, trust in one another again, and keep love in our hearts, for ourselves, for each other, and for our homeland, we can break the chains of oppression that have shackled our once proud nation. We can free ourselves from those who seek to control and manipulate us. Though this democratic evolution, we can ensure that our government is continuously administered with the principle of equality upon which it was first founded. When we remove the inherently human flaws from the process, we no longer need to put our faith or hope into individuals. Rather, we can believe in something much bigger than any one of us.
To love is as human and vital to our wellbeing as eating and sleeping. When love is lacking, we do not function the way we should. As it stands today, there is no place for love in our government, but through an interjection of the people into to process, we can change that. Although it may sound somewhat cliché, in order to spell ‘evolve’ you must first start with ‘love.’
“Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:13
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