Back in April I requested a visit with my congressman, Mike Honda, to discuss the United Democratic Nations concept (http://www.uniteddemocraticnations.org/). It took numerous emails back and forth before they (a representative, not the congressman) agreed to see me. To my surprise his office is only two blocks from my house, on the 8th floor of a nearby skyrise. The congressional aid, Mike Nguyen, offered to meet with me for 30 minutes. In that time I explained the concept. I explained how I saw the UN as dysfunctional and unrepresentative of the world. I noted that France, the 20th most populous nation, had a permanent seat and full veto power in the Security Council, yet India (2nd most populous nation) had no such position. I explained that nuclear proliferation was on the increase. I explained that Darfur was unresolved. And so on. Mike Nugyen preferred to listen and didn't have a great deal of feedback, other than to say that he didn't think the congressman would agree with an organization that excluded nations. I explained that the only exclusions would be dictators, and that the opposite was really true...if you recognize a dictator, you actually exclude the people of that country from achieving democracy.
Mike also mentioned that we would not presume to know what form of government people in other countries would want. I made the point that I have YET to meet anyone who did NOT want to be represented by their government. The idea that other people somehow didn't need freedom of speech, the right to vote, and such strikes me as strange, even dehumanizing.
I left him with printed copies of the website and he promised to read it. I will be very interested in his feedback. I am also interested in what reform, if any, he feels the congressman CAN get behind. I have not yet heard back from him.
It was an interesting experience. I can't honestly say I expected a different outcome. I can only hope that I may have spurred thought on the subject that somehow makes a positive contribution in the end.
gary
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6 comments:
Our government is so corrupt that I think you are wasting your time. But, It is nice to know that some people do care (like you) but if you don't have a lot of money to donate to our representatives....for their lavish vacations, ect...you can forget it.
Me ??down on the government????yea....you bet...
Sounds like a great idea Gary. Unfortunately democracy is only preserved and fought for on a global scale by the U.S. while the UN is a shabby attempt at collective responsibility for democracy. The UN better serves for a global humanitarian purpose with no real political power.
-Jase
Linda:
In discussing politics with my friends and family, I'm convinced that Obama legitimately won the election. And I felt the same when Bush was elected before him. While I may not have liked the outcome, it didn’t feel to me like a country where the elections were stolen. So I can't agree with the conclusion that it's the government's fault. In a democratic nation we have only our neighbors to blame. It reminds me of a great quote...
“Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.”
-- George Bernard Shaw
Many people, some in my own family, aren’t comfortable discussing politics. I think we need to get past that. It’s too important to the future of our country that we DO discuss politics.
Jase:
I can't really agree with your conclusion. There are too many examples where the US has favored dictatorship or democracy just because it was convenient to our economic or political interests. We supported the Shah of Iran. We once supported Saddam. We condemn Cuba for being a dictatorship, but we have no problem with China where over a billion people live under a dictatorship. Our foreign policy simply does not reflect our belief in democracy. Obviously I don’t see the UN as much better, which is why I think we need to change it.
gary
You say that Democracy is only as good as the people who voted for their choices in this democracy....I am saying that is wrong because it is too corrupt to be trusted as being what we all voted for.
And we have NO good choices anymore. No one has any moral values. It is always a sex scandal or a money scandal... Or if they did have any morals when they started, they lost it along the way due to greed. Money is and always will be the root of all evil.
Anonymous,
Are you saying that the elections are rigged and do not reflect the will of the people? Take the last election for example...are you saying that Obama did not receive the majority of the votes?
As for the lack of choice, how many individuals do you think ran for president? Did you research all of them? Or did you limit yourself to candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties? If that's the case, did you see your vote as one for "the lesser of two evils"?
gary
Anon....i think that it is religion that is the root of all evil. Not money.
Beliefs are a much more potent drug than greed.
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