Keep It Transparent Stupid !
If you had to prioritize the multitude of issues that America faces, which would be your first priority (yes, I know that is a redundant phrase), and why?
Before I answer that fundamental question, let me digress. A long time ago, a thoughtful and wise person said, “Know thyself”…those of you familiar with Greek philosophers and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure know that this erudite voice was that of So-crates. So-crates was on to something with that insightful observation. He revealed that if you want to optimize your time on planet earth it pays to know what makes yourself tick. That sage advice transfers with amplified importance when you apply it to individual Americans understanding their governmental roots.
When thinking about the architecture of the American democratic governmental system, the simplified analogy that I like to use is that of America being a big house built upon a granite strong foundation. When thinking of the American house, as with any house, as time passes the look and feel of the house changes because of the turn over in occupants. The house can change colors inside and out, be filled , emptied, then filled again with ever changing furnishings, see alterations in the landscaping, and the mechanicals will periodically be updated and improved. But no matter how the house changes superficially, it remains a solid abode that others come to envy because of its history, character and obvious structural integrity. The house remains a dependable structure because it is built upon a foundation comprised of the finest intellectual governmental constructs that mankind has yet to develop, American Democracy.
Democracy is our fundamental substrate. In all of life, paying attention to the fundamentals is a principle that applies across the board if you want to excel at virtually anything. Even though times change, and needs change, in order that the grand American experiment live beyond the experimental stage, there are some fundamental constitutional precepts that must remain inviolate across all of time regardless of cultural or technological change. Using that reality as the guiding star, let’s take a quick look at the issues that face America and Americans, and juggle the balls to create a top ten list.
Let’s arbitrarily begin with illegal immigration. Yup, that’s a big one, but as huge a problem as it presents, there is a more important issue. Then there are ill advised entitlements such as Social Security. Social Security is like the atomic bomb, it was a desperate action taken during desperate times and has grown into a desperate monster with little hope of survival…so yes, social security is a huge issue with monumental long term implications but it is not numero uno. Then there is national health care, who doesn’t want that (but how?)!? And then there’s national security, a severely devolved public education system, a roller coastering stock market, the plummeting value of the dollar, millions of mortgage defaults, the funding of a military machine to save the world, and oh yes….that pesky national debt of over NINE TRILLION DOLLARS….but who’s counting?
Yes, those are all big issues, and over time they will grow exponentially larger and more difficult to manage, however, no matter how large they become they will remain of secondary importance when juxtaposed against that fundamental process which provides for American democracies integrity. That process? Voting Transparency.
Transparency; such a fundamental yet profoundly important element of the American democratic system. Transparency should be inviolate. Yet, the integrity of each Americans vote has been suspect for the last ten years. While the voting process has never been and will never be absolute in any sense, it can and must be transparent. The culprit that has become a blatant and bold enemy of transparency is that ill advised concept of voting in cyberspace. This is one of those circumstance that is bad news followed by worse news event
. The bad news is that the evidence is overwhelming that electronic voting technologies are horribly flawed, leading to inaccurate and unverifiable election results that lack transparency to the degree of the total absence of light. The worse news is that if left in place and permitted to evolve, electronic voting technologies will become for all practical purposes, operationally functional. Simply, they will work within a margin of error that no argument will defeat. It is at that point in time where transparency is gone forever, and likewise the integrity of American democracy.
The overarching standard and priority for any voting methodology is that of transparency. Any and all voting systems must have as their hallmark, the quality where the average literate American citizen can serve as a fair witness auditor. Failing that simple criteria, any methodology would be void and illegal.
That pretty much leaves paper ballots as the only reasonable media upon which to record the vote. Paper ballots meets the criteria of the fair witness audit. Paper ballots meet the standard for any after the fact investigation. Paper ballots renders moot those problems associated with technological support. All that paper ballots require are an ink pen and a voter. Paper ballots provide start to finish transparency. When it comes to voting methodologies, the mantra should be Keep It Transparent Stupid !
Obviously, voting is far too important a process to leave in the hands of government. (Which leads one to ask, what’s going on with the creation of the Election Assistance Commission?) The American democratic system of checks and balances was devised precisely to prevent any one element of government to hold unfair sway over the other, and or the people. Long ago, the founders of American democracy realized that the people needed to control the government. “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master”…George Washington. Thus, the three co-equal elements of American democracy, the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. Yes, in recent modern times, illicit forces are playing fast and loose with the balance of power. That too is a HUGE issue, and one that must run in close parallel with transparency as our first priority, but even that falls a very close second and must run in trail to transparency.
I’m not telling any reader anything new by informing them that our democratic internal constructs are being hollowed out from within. We have enjoyed the good life all while the termites moved in right under out nose. So, lets pull ourselves up by our boot straps and accept our guilt…then lets buckle up the battle gear and take our democracy back from the brink of extinction. To date, it’s OUR fault. Where the fault will lie in the future is unknown…but this I do know.
So, back to So-crates; he did indeed offer mankind some most excellent advice. Following his lead, I know myself and the American democratic system well enough to know that our first priority should and must be…
Keep It Transparent Stupid !
