----- Original Message -----

From: Jiri Polak

To: cicdd@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2003 6:05 PM

Subject: Re: [cicdd] Re:Mirek, re- what Direct Democracy means to you

Hello,
these principles seem reasonable and I can subscribe to them. I would particularly stress the principle, that it is the people who should write and adopt their Constitution. In Europe, so far, Constitutions have always been written and adopted by representative bodies. We should deny them democratic legitimacy and start replacing them by true people´s Constitutions. This is what we are doing in Czech Republic, although, at present, we are at an embryonic stage only.
Sincerely,                Jiri

stevemathe@... skrev:

Dear Mirek, Hi!

>From memory we trashed this out almost a year ago on cicdd, with quite a bit of stir and confusion in the minds of some finding it difficult to grasp the true essence of DD.

I always promote Abe Lincoln's " Government of the People, By the people - For the People"   concept. In practical terms I interpret it this way:

1) Sovereign power resides in the people/citizens.

2) The people/citizens, create the Constitution, and the administative/authority
    bodies - and appoint the authorities to run/administer them.

3) The authorities are always accountable to the electorate, and can be challenged
    by any citizen if any of them deviate from the dictates of the Constitution,
   and or from the will of the people expressed through the ballot box.

4) The people create policy and legislation, and the authority/administrators are charged
    with administering the will of the People.

5) Every citizen has the right to participate in policy and legislation making and in
    the decision of them through the ballot box.

4) Every citizen has the right to propose policy and legislation through a machinery
    setup enabling one to do so.

5) Decision on policy/legislation validated by a majority vote. In Citizens Rights League
   it is advocated the majority vote to equal 75% of the votes.

Summed up, the people decide legislation and policy; and appoint the authorities to administer the Will of the people - fully accountable to the people for their actions.

I find all this grass-root,  bottom-up, fascistic topside dialogue quite senseless to be frank. In a true DD system, at least in CRL as I envision it; proposition for policy and legislation is proposed from all directions: from the bottom, from the top, from right and left...from all perspectives! Irrespective from what levels or sectors of the population the propositions are tabled - it is the majority will of the people that decide the issue in the end!

Irrespective of the social status of a citizen, they are all part of the people. As such, an authority, civil servant, religious leader, politicians; chimney sweeper, taxi driver etc they all
are citizens and are people, with equal rights to participate in the governing process. Going by Antonio's reasoning, all people of higher social standing, occupying high positions are to be denied power to advocate policy legislation because he considers them top-down fascistic BBB. Antonio wants this power in the hands of the people only - but then he fails to define who the 'The People' are.

In my eyes, in a DD system, the sovereign power resides in the people, and their Will runs the system constructed and defined by them. If they want to adopt a Fascist, a Communist,
or an Ayatolah religious system - so be it!  If they want to stand on their heads at quarter to six daily....so be it. What counts is that their Will be done!

Of course, the hope is that wisdom and commonsense prevails in their decision making!
In CRL, 5 moral principles is advocated into the Constitution, guiding policy, legislation making - and the decisions of them. In addition, we advocate an ironclad independent authority with the power to enforce all our governmental activities to conform with the Constitution dictates.

With best regards,

Steve            http://citizensrightsleague.com.freeservers.com/

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