The Imbalance of Power
Today, your Republican dominated congress voted to further shackle the judicial branch of our government. A two-point balance (legislative & executive) balances power only in a linear sense. A three point balance (legislative, executive & judicial) offers a three-dimensional balance of power. That third dimension brings into balance not only right and left but front to back and is especially valuable when both right and left are so busy loading up their end of the balance they neglect the front to back aspect of any given issue.
Our treatment of detainees is one such issue and the issue that drove Congress to today's vote that renders our judicial branch one step closer to irrelevance.
Our entrenched two-party system oppresses third parties. I am convinced our two-party system has rendered voters closer and closer to irrelevance. A three-party system could only add choice (dimension) to the balance of power among U.S. voters.
In Illinois, Green Party Candidate for Governor, Rich Whitney, offers a third set of positions for voters to consider. Yet, a two-dimensional two-party system fearful of Whitney's intellect continues to disallow his participation in gubernatorial debates.
In a similar sense a 3-pronged system of governance is valuable especially when the other two branches get too cozy... as is the case today. Our two major parties, Republican and Democrat oscillate from being essentially identical to polar opposites. I see them operating as a "good cop (sheep dog)" - "bad cop (wolf)" team that is herding American voters like sheep. A third branch, like a third party, serves as an additional check and balance to power.
The concentration of power is history's clearest threat to human freedom. Why resist a reasonable dispersion of power?
Our judicial branch of governance is presently on the rocks but, happily, there are signs it will not go down without a fight.
Think about the "Balance of Power."
If building a new home... would you prefer it was constructed on the level from right to left only? I suspect everyone would want their home to be on the level, also, from front to back.
A three-point level is the tool of choice if one desires the most accurate and efficient leveling of that which is being constructed. Our nation's government is a house under constant construction. It is far better to level as we go than to have to rebuild later. Fortunately, our nation's founders provided a three-point balance of power that includes a three-way leveling effect on the government.
Today, we should voice our opposition to the shackling of our judicial branch of government by the executive and legislative branches.
While at it, you might want to think long and hard about a three-party system. A tri-pod is far more stable than a bi-pod. Try climbing a standard ladder without leaning it against a third support. A standard ladder is useless without some outside, third point of bearing. Doesn't this kind of make you wonder just what is that support our two-party system is leaning on? Think Corporate America and the mountain of cash they heap upon both parties. Corporate America was never intended to be a "voter" yet it has become the most powerful voter in today's electorate.
I know one political candidate who absolutely refuses corporate donations.... and he is being refused debate privileges by the the two-party system that eagerly accepts cash from Corporate America. Imagine, in America, a fully legitimate gubernatorial candidate's free-speech, in the most important context of democracy, is not just being stifled but being completely silenced and by an entrenched two-party system that claims to serve the electorate. Is this Democracy? Is this even fair is the most basic sense of fairness?
Rich Whitney, using only individual donations, covered the state of Illinois and collected the required signatures to get on Illinois' gubernatorial ballot. Illinois is, by the way, one of the most difficult states for a third party candidate to get on the ballot. Whitney is a legitimate candidate but the system will not let the voters of Illinois hear his positions be voiced in the same debate format as the two major parties enjoy.
An appreciation of our three branches of government and the benefits of three-party governance are discussed together, in this essay, because of their similar effects toward a healthy balance of power, an essential element of a functional democracy.
I, for one, think stifling the distribution of power and the silencing of third-party candidates are insults to democracy.
Our treatment of detainees is one such issue and the issue that drove Congress to today's vote that renders our judicial branch one step closer to irrelevance.
Our entrenched two-party system oppresses third parties. I am convinced our two-party system has rendered voters closer and closer to irrelevance. A three-party system could only add choice (dimension) to the balance of power among U.S. voters.
In Illinois, Green Party Candidate for Governor, Rich Whitney, offers a third set of positions for voters to consider. Yet, a two-dimensional two-party system fearful of Whitney's intellect continues to disallow his participation in gubernatorial debates.
In a similar sense a 3-pronged system of governance is valuable especially when the other two branches get too cozy... as is the case today. Our two major parties, Republican and Democrat oscillate from being essentially identical to polar opposites. I see them operating as a "good cop (sheep dog)" - "bad cop (wolf)" team that is herding American voters like sheep. A third branch, like a third party, serves as an additional check and balance to power.
The concentration of power is history's clearest threat to human freedom. Why resist a reasonable dispersion of power?
Our judicial branch of governance is presently on the rocks but, happily, there are signs it will not go down without a fight.
Think about the "Balance of Power."
If building a new home... would you prefer it was constructed on the level from right to left only? I suspect everyone would want their home to be on the level, also, from front to back.
A three-point level is the tool of choice if one desires the most accurate and efficient leveling of that which is being constructed. Our nation's government is a house under constant construction. It is far better to level as we go than to have to rebuild later. Fortunately, our nation's founders provided a three-point balance of power that includes a three-way leveling effect on the government.
Today, we should voice our opposition to the shackling of our judicial branch of government by the executive and legislative branches.
While at it, you might want to think long and hard about a three-party system. A tri-pod is far more stable than a bi-pod. Try climbing a standard ladder without leaning it against a third support. A standard ladder is useless without some outside, third point of bearing. Doesn't this kind of make you wonder just what is that support our two-party system is leaning on? Think Corporate America and the mountain of cash they heap upon both parties. Corporate America was never intended to be a "voter" yet it has become the most powerful voter in today's electorate.
I know one political candidate who absolutely refuses corporate donations.... and he is being refused debate privileges by the the two-party system that eagerly accepts cash from Corporate America. Imagine, in America, a fully legitimate gubernatorial candidate's free-speech, in the most important context of democracy, is not just being stifled but being completely silenced and by an entrenched two-party system that claims to serve the electorate. Is this Democracy? Is this even fair is the most basic sense of fairness?
Rich Whitney, using only individual donations, covered the state of Illinois and collected the required signatures to get on Illinois' gubernatorial ballot. Illinois is, by the way, one of the most difficult states for a third party candidate to get on the ballot. Whitney is a legitimate candidate but the system will not let the voters of Illinois hear his positions be voiced in the same debate format as the two major parties enjoy.
An appreciation of our three branches of government and the benefits of three-party governance are discussed together, in this essay, because of their similar effects toward a healthy balance of power, an essential element of a functional democracy.
I, for one, think stifling the distribution of power and the silencing of third-party candidates are insults to democracy.
posted by Duane Short | 9/28/2006 07:39:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home