Post Alpaca Lips Posts

Photo by   Mick Haupt   on  Unsplash . First published on Medium . . Many people are against direct democracy because they fear   mob rule   and such. That fear is derived from a static idea fallacy;   only what democracy was, is what democracy can be.   There are no extenuating circumstances where democracy can be more direct than it is, and still be successful. Blah. Blah. Blah.   While we have been a republic with democratic elements, or democracy with republican checks and balances, the belief system surrounding these ideas is an 18th century relic.   Is it possible that our democratic system has not changed in the 234 years since our Constitution was written, or cannot be improved? . Yes, human behavior has changed little since then. Yet, no matter what people and our nation were like centuries ago, our ability to run government since then with more democratic involvement has improved many lives. Specifically, our laws, and enforcement o...

Photo by   Partha Narasimhan   on  Unsplash First published on Medium . Reaching beyond democracy cliches, and bypassing status quo no-change agents, or go slo-mo incrementalists, requires a decent understanding of our history, our entire electoral system, and human behavior. People want to make quick judgements about our system.   Democracy is mob rule , tyranny of the majority, blocked by the electoral college, gets thwarted by the Supreme Court, still relies on the filibuster, abuses the outdated two senator per state concept, etc.   However, these tired tropes, and narrow process- tinkerings   take up too much of our time, energy, and focus. . Elements like the filibuster and electoral college are artifacts of an old system. Unfortunately, and paradoxically, the Constitution is a   socially   fixed, and only grudgingly flexible document . Secondarily, the fixed or originalist faction is in a stronger position because it has nearly two and a h...