Those who are aware wonder what more can they do if anything. Many struggle alone or in small groups in the cause of their choices, large organizations have gone deep to stay alive but focus upon only one cause, with much of their energy diverted to fundraising, while the rest of us feel resigned, cynical perhaps, apathetic, demoralized, even depressed. I call this the “whatever syndrome,” as in when you tell someone that this time the sky really is falling or the wolves are actually killing and eating the sheep they just shrug their shoulders, mumble “Whatever,” and go back to doing whatever they happen to be doing. “Whatever,” right?
Folks, there IS something positive each one of us can do.
Vote “Yes!” for a Democratic World Parliament. And do it now. I voted “Yes.” Tell others to do it, too. Go to the website http://www.voteworldparliament.org and vote.
This is a grassroots, planetary movement. It is a worldwide internet-based voting via global referendum. You can find out more about it at its companion website http://www.rescueplanforplanetearth.com.
A recent book called Rescue Plan for Planet Earth: Democratic World Government through a Global Referendum advocates for the wisdom and practicality of building a unified planetary democracy. The author is Jim Stark of Canada. He lives in rural Quebec and served as a global anti-nuclear weapons activist during the Cold War.
His is a brilliant book. I have long struggled without success over what we can do to work with nation-state regimes, stateless nations, the UN and the Bretton Woods Three, or bypass all of them in some local-global grassroots initiative. Established institutions are inherently resistant to overtly surrendering power. Mr. Stark comes up with a brilliantly simple answer to a complex problem. The answer is to leverage telecommunications technology including the Internet as well as mail-in paper ballots from across Earth to launch, maintain, and sustain a Global Referendum for planetary democracy.
Jim Stark throws down a challenge for all of us, and it is a challenge any one of us capable adults can answer. Vote. Yes, vote. His Global Referendum is a way to involve all of us, even if we disagree with it.
Vote World Parliament is an NGO, a non-governmental organization, active in the pursuit and creation of transparent, democratic world government. While some people quibble over the wording of its ballot proposition as it currently exists, it is simple and direct. The ballot proposition asks:
“Do you support the creation of a directly-elected, representative and democratic world parliament that is authorized to legislate on global issues?”
That is it: “Yes” or “No.”
VWP works in alliance with WATUN, the World Alliance to Transform the United Nations as well as other global democracy NGOS and activists. Even though this grass-roots initiative seeks to bypass the UN, there are still sizable contingents who seek to radically reform what we already have.
Until recently VWP used to be called Vote World Government, short for Vote Democratic World Government. The name change, precipitated by coalition building with other pro-global democracy NGOs, stemmed largely in part from the unusually extreme fear and negativity wrapped around the term “world government.” The majority of Earth’s democracies maintain a parliamentary system, and while a world congress is clearly possible it was decided to go with the term “parliament.” Too many world citizens associated the term “world government” – even when preceded by the world “democratic” – with world dictatorship, far-rightwing conspiracy theories, and global empire. So many people, even if they laugh at the far-right wing conspiracy kooks, are still leery of the term “world government,” fear global tyranny, and view the term “One World Government” as scary and ominous.
The reality of the matter is that our alternative to Democratic World Government is planetwide collapse with all the horrors that entails or a worldwide empire. And we do have a world empire in the making right under our noses, the defacto Euro-American Global Empire dominated by the financial elite and their allies including the international bank cartels and the Corporatocracy. The emphasis of that neo-imperium is local-regional-national-global financial domination followed by economic domination followed by police and military domination with overt control of the political process, the most obvious process, being the last to achieve. The recent United States Supreme Court decision reinforcing the power of organizations including the principle of corporate personhood is a recent significant step in this direction.
At any rate, it was felt “world government” turned people off but “world parliament” proved enrolling. In addition getting an Earth Parliament or Congress established would be another crucial step in the creation of a true Democratic World Government. It is clear that such an enormous undertaking will take many steps even with the mountain coming down upon us.
I also take issue with assuming the best form of democratic government is going to be a European-style parliamentary form vs. the American three-way checks and balances system. I myself have not made up my mind which would be best for humanity. Both systems have their pros and cons. It would be best to leave that up to wisdom councils to sort out and a planetary constitutional convention followed by another referendum on that. I would imagine the best and brightest among us to evolve something even more evolved than what we have now. This is especially pertinent as we have experienced the paralysis and fragmentation inherent in parliamentary systems and the abuses and creeping “stealth” despotism that mar the American system. Jim Stark is upfront, of course, as favoring the Canadian system, which is indeed one of the better ones on Earth, as he is Canadian and thus more familiar with it. Nor is the fundamental issue of the people taking public control of the Money Power not addressed in these gatherings. Such an important economic and financial issue must be addressed. For now, however, let’s vote in this referendum! Let’s focus one step at a time and help build our Democratic World Parliament. We can move on from there.
These are all mere quibbles, however, quibbles. The greater priority is to get this referendum going worldwide. And that means starting locally.
Many will oppose us from all directions. There are those who desire world government alright, but are working hard to create a financial and political planetary dictatorship. There are racists, religious fundamentalists, nationalists, and those in the Corporatocracy and the military-industrial-intelligence complex who will oppose democratic world government as a threat to their power. There are the quasi-libertarian conspiracy theory kooks who recognize the above menaces as real, which they are, but collapse every move toward a democratic world federation as part of the One World Government conspiracy. These me-firsters make no distinction between the forces of what author/activist David Korten calls Global Empire and Earth Community. Instead these freedom-without-responsibility types denigrate concepts of universal human rights and universal social responsibility. There will be those who actually support the concept of Democratic World Government but may vote “No” because they don’t like parliaments. Come on, people!
There are also the capitalists who still cling to illusions of a free and unregulated marketplace and the communists who cling to the dictatorship of the proletariat as central state control who will oppose this. And there are the Anarchists who naively believe in no government or hierarchy at all but loose networks of individuals and neighborhoods cooperating together without competition and violence. I would imagine, however, that Jim Stark is right in his statistics-based assumption the majority of human beings would prefer a transparent, democracy world government of liberty, peace, health, and prosperity. And if the chance to vote in favor of such occurred most would vote “Yes.”
Let us set aside our differences to work together now. One step at a time, breathing as we go.
This Global Referendum to vote for a democratic world government is hands-down the best, most effective tool we have to leverage people and technology around the world in service of Earth and humanity. So go vote, and I encourage all of you to vote “Yes!”
Again, go here and vote: www.voteworldparliament.org and declare yourself for Democratic World Parliament that can legislate on global issues and help us meet our planetary challenges as one politically-united species. And join me in thanking Jim Stark and his team for such a great book, a brilliant concept, and a hands-on nuts-and-bolts approach to implement their vision. Jim Stark and all of you at Vote World Parliament, thank you.
William Dudley Bass
Friday, January 29, 2010
Sources:
Bass, William Dudley. “Vote Yes! For Democratic World Government,” At the Brink with William Dudley Bass. Seattle, WA: 2008. http://atthebrinkwithwilliamdudleybass.blogspot.com/2009/03/vote-yes-for-democratic-world.html
Stark, Jim. Rescue Plan for Planet Earth: Democratic World Government through a
Global Referendum. Toronto, Canada: The Key Publishing House, 2008.
Vote World Parliament, www.voteworldparliament.org
WATUN, http://transformun.org
© by William Dudley Bass
No comments:
Post a Comment