On November 2nd, we are calling on people to occupy democracy by occupying central squares for the day to educate people about US democracy. Lets share where it is, where it isnt how it is working and how it isnt working. We start from the factual premise that the US is fundamentally not a functional democracy, republic or otherwise, especially on the federal level but often on the state and local level. From there we have a discussion on our vision for a more participatory democracy and come up with strategies for taking that power for the people. One pillar of that plan will be getting out the vote for November 4th. We know that if youth, minorities and poor people voted in higher percentages, the government would be forced to deal more with our issues. By itself voting is not going to bring about the radical shift of the US away from empire or control by a shadow government of power elites but it is the most basic democratic tool that we must use and that many people died to get. Another pillar is taking democratic control of mass media. The US government has given away the airwaves and is giving away the internet to total corporate dominance. We cannot have a functional democracy if the vast majority of media is controlled by powerful special interests and we are relegated to small webpages and radio stations to hear the truth that many never discover. We must come up with a strategy to end the begging for media coverage and instead take media control. The third pillar is economic democracy. Money is not free speech. Democracy cannot survive when there are billionaires whos voice is louder than one humans should be. It is time for people to demand one person one voice no matter the wealth. It is fine for someone who is studied in an area to be raised by the community for their voice to be louder, but it is not okay for douchebags with money to have a greater voice. There are a million ways that we can disrupt the millions in money that go to political campaigns and public relations lies. Occupy democracy is building community, creating checks and balances to power, reinvigorating the fourth estate, radical participation in governance and self governance. It is also getting out the vote, because the election is two days away and if we can get one better person elected then thats a show of our strength. This is post-partisan, we welcome all parties, especially third parties, but leave your big signs at home. Candidates as well are welcome, but leave your big signs at home too. Special interest groups are welcome, especially radical feminist, anti-capitalist and peace groups but again, no flashy signs or taking up huge space. Flyers and information is welcome, talking to people is preferred. Taking actions to register people to vote, to canvas neighborhoods and to generate enthusiasm for election day is a big part of why we are coming together! Democracy is symbolized in the minds of most people in the US by voting, but it goes much deeper than that. Democracy is a movement for governance that is increasingly inclusive, increasingly participatory, that informs, debates and creates reasonable agreements among affected communities as an alternative to rule from above or war. There is a chant at protests This is what democracy looks like! Democracy looks protests and marches. It looks like occupy. Sometimes it takes undemocratic actions to demand democracy. Sometimes it is consensus, other times it is voting. It rarely ends up with everyone agreeing on everything but hopefully it ends up with the idea that there will be more opportunities for input increasingly so. Occupy democracy and lets put an end to the fascist corporatocracy. https://facebook/events/730189293735654/
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 08:01:27 +0000