Awareness is Pretty Meaningless

Awareness is never effective.

The recent KONY 2012 campaign is a very good example.  Yes, now a whole lot more people know about the situation in Uganda but nothing will change just because of this.  Lets face it, a genocidal tyrant will not disappear just because a bunch of people have tweeted, shared and hit the like button on Facebook.

In the new world of engaged democracy people must get more involved first-hand and on-ground rather than just spreading the word.  Sharing and being involved is now the easiest thing in the world.  However, it is completely useless at this point in time.  Genuine and personal on-ground action, funds and commitment are required.

The fundamental flaw with awareness is that it assumes that there is strength in numbers which we know is not an effective way to get anything done.  A few individuals that are passionate, action-oriented and well-funded have a better chance of reaching good solutions or solving problems than many "concerned and well-intentioned" citizens of the world regardless of how upset they are over the specific issues at hand.

The bottom-line for democracy and to try to really solve the world problems is to have the concept of majority rules abandoned.  Less people should be involved but they have to have more knowledge, be a financial stake-holder, an international organization, a corporation or hold a "significant" interest.  These should be the only people involved.

This approach should lead to institutional reform for our national democratic evolution.  Congress should be repurposed to oversee the process rather than be the involved in making the policies or taking action.  "Engaged democracy" works best when only those who know what is actually happening are involved and the rest of the population are left out...no matter how well-intentioned or aware.

"Engaged Democracy" - The Way Forward

Representative democracy is dead.

What needs to evolve is a spirit of "engaged democracy" whereby individuals have the ability to contribute to the democratic process in whatever areas of the public domain that interest them.

Individuals should have the ability to contribute not only input but also in the formulation of legislation.  Expertise exists in volumes in the modern world across America and this brain pool needs to be included in the legislative process so that greater and more effective solutions are reached.  Through "engaged democracy" differing opinions and agendas can be included in the public debate so that the legislation that is reached is broader in consideration than it currently is today.

Non-partisan solutions should be the goal in the "engaged democracy" process so that fair and equitable information is collected and considered with the objective that America moves down a forward-thinking path.  Party politics has lead to way too much emphasis being put on all-or-nothing style legislation that pushes a philosophy, which unfortunately usually comes at the expense of good government.

In today's world of technology and communication, collecting opinion and expertise should be simple so that the social divides are considered and mutually beneficial policies are arrived at.

In the new system of "engaged democracy", the Congress would become a managerial institution designed to oversee the process of developing legislation and would abandon it's role as a legislator itself.  Only in this way can agenda-driven partisanship be left behind such that America can reclaim it's democratic roots.