Public Comment

The inhabitants of our small village are looking for answers. They wonder why when walking down Shattuck out of every doorway peer a pair of eyes set in a haggard face. Why they ask themselves is rent so high and crime rate spiraling out of control? Sitting at their kitchen table, bills spread out in front of them confused that taxes are becoming a worrisome burden. Village elders forced to decide whether to pay for prescriptions or rent. Food has already become a non-consideration. Monday through Friday lunch at the senior center. Hoping to get lucky and hit the Trader Joe's lottery so they have a scrap of bread to eat during the weekend. A homeless wheelchair-bound man sits not in a rocking chair on the porch but in Constitution Square. Rain beats down on his hollow chest as he struggles vainly to get up the hill towards emergency shelter. A vulnerable homeless woman wonders why this is happening to her as threadbare clothes are torn from her frail body to suffer once again hours if not days of physical abuse. 

They all ask where are the village chiefs? They are nowhere to be found. Their looming presence can be felt. Like Rehoboam making our yoke heavier, not lighter. Instead of stone it is escalating rents and building housing that only a minority can afford. Scourging us with the whip of homelessness and misplaced priorities. 

The present social order which we all participate in is administered by representative democracy. Allowing a small group of people to run things for us in our behalf. A best case scenario is then we hold them accountable for their actions. 

How is it we hold them accountable? Well every once in a while we get to vote them off the island. If you have time and energy to trudge down to weekly council meeting the Chiefs awards us the grand privilege of blathering for two minutes. That is if the Grand Poobah sitting center stage decides we deserve such a blessing. Ah but if lots of villagers want to speak our time gets cut to 60 seconds. Doesn’t matter if people are dying in the streets, sidewalks need fixing or you just saw the cow jump over the moon. 

On a day to day basis we are held powerless by representative democracy. Is that really true? 

I'll concede the fact that it may be necessary for one person to represent the interests of thousands. How this is possible is a mystery to me but I’ll go along with the program. At its core the system only works if we hold our representative accountable. Under the present system that is next to impossible. 

Government is not supposed to be in charge or in control of your giving or your desire to help your fellow settler. 

Instead of people wandering around with their hands out looking for the government to do things for them, they should instead consider what they, personally, can do for the individuals in their community, nation (and the world). The problem comes when people start to think the government should dictate who is helped, how they are helped, and how much of YOUR money is used to help. Serious problems arise when we acquiesce to the Chiefs. 

To correct this what I envision is a federation of neighborhood groups directly involved in setting public policy and holding elected representatives accountable.

It starts from the ground. I can see 10 participants per block who go door to door asking for participants. As more and more become involved a neighborhood council is formed. Subsequently a district council. 

A practical example is: Susan is very concerned about the sidewalk in front of her house, so much so she mentions it to Bob who agrees. They gather more of their neighbors and form a council. They then approach their City Council member who can't be found but they do get an e mail full of platitudes At the end of the day it just means go away and don't bother me. 

As a result Susan,Bob and all participants decide to fix it themselves so Max a wheelchair-bound veteran, can get to Berkeley Bowl. 

It doesn’t matter what the topic is the community now has a conveyance to solve any problems and bring innovative ideas to the table of common discussion. This configuration results in an elected City Council member being transformed into a facilitator. Thus the community exerts direct control over the council. We no longer have one person doing for all of us for we are Doing It Ourselves. 

What is needed today is A New Vision For A New Future. A vision which has as its cornerstone the understanding that the individual can only survive and prosper is if the collective body does. Focused on creating a more egalitarian and participatory process based on not coercion or wishful thinking but voluntary cooperation. Only until we as individuals truly believe that we as a community can move mountains together will the challenges that face all of us be confronted in a meaningful and effective way. This is the pathway to true and direct democracy.