Our current political, two party, system is broken. People in this country no longer trust it and no longer believe it is working. A consensus has emerged that government, in its current form and structure, is not capable (and is probably unwilling) to take on the pressing social, cultural and economic issues of our time. Current defenders of the system look around for a "third party" to rescue the day, or an "independent" candidate to emerge, or in the case of the Tea Party, or the Occupy Wall Street Movement, some new, people based, movement that could/would have lasting impact. As we now know, the Tea Party movement was hijacked and integrated into the Republican Party, so it has become marginalized. It remains part of the old form and will not move us into a new future.
Instead of complaining constantly about what is wrong with the current system or how it cannot work; we must now become part of a creative solution. We trust that we can create, transcend, and emerge into something new and powerful- A Place Beyond Politics.
If we still believe in the core principles of a democracy, we can create A Parallel Democracy that operates alongside, and completely separate (but not unaware of) the current, dysfunctional, political democratic system. A Parallel Democracy does not operate within the current structure, it "shadows" it, and runs next to it, like a train on a parallel track. Eventually, if enough energy, interest and enthusiasm is generated by this new movement, A Parallel Democracy replaces the old with the new. In the beginning it will inform those who govern us; and, in the end, it will be what governs us.
A Parallel Democracy is entirely peaceful, but revolutionary. It is participatory and entirely voluntary. It is not restricted by current rules, boundaries, doctrines, political parties, current ideology, the "old guard", timelines, election restrictions, etc. It is entirely new and can be framed, formed, expanded, in an open virtual space.
So how do we do this? Well, we begin by having a conversation like this one. Every significant change in our society has begun with a conversation. Then we take action: We get off of the old grid and get on the new one. We join A Parallel Democracy and begin to discuss and vote on the pressing issues in front of us. Join us. America and the world is waiting.
http://ia700305.us.archive.org/12/items/TaxExemptFoundationsTheEnemyWithin-NormanDoddDrStanMonteith/Wm453NormanDoddDrStan.ogv
ReplyDeleteDodd: That affect was to orient our educational system away from support of the principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence, and implemented in the Constitution; and to educate them over to the idea that the task now was to effect an orientation of education away from these briefly stated principles and self-evident truths.
ReplyDeleteAnd, that’s what had been the effect of the wealth which constituted the endowments of those foundations -– foundations that had been in existence over the largest portion of the span of fifty years -- and holding them responsible for this change. What we were able to bring forward was -- what we had uncovered was -- the determination of these large endowed foundations, through their trustees, actually to get control over the content of American education.
Griffin: There is quite a bit of publicity given to your conversation with Rowan Gaither. Will you please tell us who he was, and what was that conversation you had with him?
Dodd: Rowan Gaither was, at that time, President of the Ford Foundation. Mr. Gaither had sent for me, when I found it convenient to be in New York. He asked me to call upon him at his office, which I did.
Upon arrival, after a few amenities, Mr. Gaither said, "Mr. Dodd, we have asked you to come up here today, because we thought that, possibly, off the record, you would tell us why the Congress is interested in the activities of foundations such as ourselves."
And, before I could think of how I would reply to that statement, Mr. Gaither then went on, and voluntarily stated, "Mr. Dodd, all of us who have a hand in the making of policies here, have had experience either with the OSS during the war, or with European economic administration after the war. We have had experience operating under directives. The directives emanate, and did emanate, from the White House. Now, we still operate under just such directives. Would you like to know what the substance of these directives is?"