On January 6, 2021, the U.S. came as close as we’ve ever come to losing our democracy. The fear, rage and manipulation that enabled the attack on the physical and spiritual seat of democracy in America has not gone away, it is growing. It is simmering under the surface in the GOP’s arguments against President Biden’s Green New Deal. It is bubbling up in the removal of Liz Cheney as House Republican Conference Chair, and the vicious attacks on her by her own party.  It is claiming ground in the various voter restriction laws already passed in 14 states, with over 380 more restrictive bills introduced by lawmakers in 48 states.  https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-may-2021

The current implosion of the GOP may appear to be entertaining, just deserts for McConnell and his band. But the truth is much more sinister. The Republican party is crumbling, but it’s crumbling at the feet of Trumpism. And when Trumpism wears the cloak of the GOP, we exchange the soulless duplicity of McConnell for the shameless subservience of McCarthy. And if what our country suffered through during Trump’s administration hasn’t already made it glaringly obvious, this road leads to nowhere but tyranny.

For a more detailed account of the danger facing American Democracy and why bold, creative reform is needed now, see the attached article by Yascha Maounk- Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins.  https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/03/america-is-not-a-democracy/550931/

 For yet another perspective, this one from Republicans who also want to eliminate the threat of Trumpism, see this Op-Ed piece from The Lincoln Project. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/16/reed-galen-trumpism-lincoln-project/

If we are to preserve our democracy for our children, and their’s, and generations to come, then we must engage with the real and deep understanding that:

-The process by which we elect our federal representatives is broken.

-Our system of government is rotten. Instead of calling our best and brightest to serve; with a few notable exceptions, it attracts the most self-serving narcissists from around the nation.

-American Democracy is under a very real threat from Trumpism.

The American Parliament

Draft 002

6/19/21

-AVK

Upon another month of research, it appears as if a better way to effect change in the U.S. political system, would be to focus on the legislative branch.

Therefore, instead of replacing the executive branch with a parliament; what if we left the presidency intact, and replaced the legislative branch with the following ideas:

Eliminating the bicameral system and introducing a single-house congress, whose members are elected under the direct election council system.

Under the current system, in all 50 states, senators and congresspeople are currently directly elected; so, this would require less of a mental adjustment for voters.

Instead of each state getting 2 senators, and several congress-members based on population, each state would get a 15-member parliament, made up of a ten-member council of elders and a 5-member council of youth.

The electoral college would be eliminated. Instead:

Each state would get one vote for president.  For a total of 50 votes.

 (Or)

Each member of each state parliament would get one vote for president. For a total of 750 votes.

The criteria, term limits and process for nominating members of congress would stay the same as it was for the executive branch in Draft 001.

Congress would retain the ability it currently has to introduce bills and pass statutory law.

5/16/21

After two months of research, meditation and discussion, various failings with the original idea have been uncovered.  More research is necessary. More discussion and debate are needed. Various viewpoints are required.  Therefore I humbly ask you to contribute to this experiment.   It may be a while before we can meet in person, so for now please share your thoughts and insights in the comments window.  

3/16/21

The American Parliament

Draft 001 -AVK

Imagine if we as a nation lived in a direct democracy.  Not an electoral college, two-party system, owned by the corporate plutocracy and managed by incompetent self-serving zealots; but a true, free, functioning democracy in which we choose to be governed by our best and brightest.   We can- The American Parliament.

The original idea for the American Parliament was to replace the single-person executive branch of the U.S. government (the president) with a fifteen-member parliament made up of two councils: The ten-member Council of Elders and the five-member Council of Youth. Each member is directly elected by the people of the United States.

The parliament retains all the responsibilities and powers that previously belonged to the president. In addition, the Parliament assumes the ability to pass statutory law and along with Congress to introduce bills.

The Supreme Court remains virtually unchanged and retains veto power over the election of any citizen to the parliament.

Criteria

To qualify for the Council of Elders one must:

Be an American Citizen, minimum 55 years of age.

 1-    Demonstrate through the example of their life and work an extraordinary commitment and contribution to the betterment of the United States and its people.

2-    Demonstrate a clear and verifiable depth of knowledge and sound judgment in their chosen field, as evaluated by expert peers.

3-    Demonstrate a genuine understanding of the interconnectedness of every nation on Earth, and a desire for a harmonious future for humanity and the planet.

To qualify for the Council of Youth one must:

Be an American Citizen, maximum 25 years of age.

 1-    Demonstrate an ongoing committed engagement in their community and society at large in an effort to uplift and improve the lives of all Americans as well as the lives of all of Earth’s people.

Council members do not run for election.  They are nominated in a nationwide vote by any citizen of the U.S. eighteen years or older. The individuals garnering the most votes are invited to become members of the Councils.

Elections are held once every three years.  There is no campaigning, no debates, and no private money.  The process is publicly funded.

Each term lasts 3 years. There are no term limits, though a council member ages out at age 26. Each member of the council gets paid $1 million per year but must relinquish any and all other forms of income during time of service.

The Process

A Preliminary Nomination vote takes place digitally on October 2 of an election year.

The voting tally is live-streamed in real-time.

 Every U.S. citizen 18 years or older gets one vote. One can vote for any American whom they feel meets the criteria listed above.  To nominate someone, one must include a short, no more than one page, written supporting statement of why they think that person is qualified.  The supporting statements are made public for anyone to read on The American Parliament website.

The top 200 nominees are informed that the American people would like to nominate them to join the parliament of the United States. Any nominated person wishing to decline the invitation may recuse themselves from further consideration.

The Official Vote takes place digitally on November 2.

The voting tally is live-streamed in real-time.

The results are verified and confirmed on November 9.  

The 15 individuals receiving the most votes are asked to confirm that they would like to join the Parliament.

Those wishing to join Parliament confirm by 8 pm ET on November 10

If any of the elected decline, then those receiving the next most votes are asked if they would like to join Parliament.  They are given 24 hours to accept or decline.

This process continues until 10 elders and 5 youth have agreed to join their respective councils and become the Parliament.

The swearing-in of the Parliament takes place on November 16.

 Checks and Balances

The Supreme court has veto power over any nominee to the Parliament and may refuse to allow any individual to serve in Parliament for only the following reasons: 

That an individual does not meet the criteria required to become a member of Parliament.

That an individual is deemed incapable or unwilling to serve the greater good of the nation and all of its people.

If the people disagree with the veto decision of the Supreme Court, the people may call for a special election and vote to overturn the decision of the Supreme Court. In order to overturn the decision of the Supreme court a 51% majority of all registered voters in the nation is required.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Parliament retains all the duties and responsibilities of the current executive branch.

Parliament assumes the ability to pass statutory law.  

A member of Parliament can introduce a bill

About

When I first mentioned the idea of the American Parliament to a few close friends on different occasions, every one of them without fail asked me, why.  Why I wanted to do this, what was my motivation?  And every time without fail I was surprised by the question. 

Well, isn’t it obvious that our government is a disaster and that our system of government has failed us?  What do you mean, why? Look around.  And these were all people who were looking around. They may not have been as disgusted as I was by the storming of The Capitol on January 6th, but they were very disturbed by the administration that encouraged it to happen. We had been in touch during the course of the 2020 election, and every one of them without reserve criticized the government, its excesses and failings. So, what do you mean, why do I want to change the system?

Turns out, they were right to ask the question. And I needed to ponder it more deeply. I needed to examine my truest reasons for wanting to embark on the inadvisable (some would, and did, say ridiculous) task of trying to restructure the executive branch of the U.S. government.

My deepest belief is that each one of us is here to be of service.  It doesn’t particularly matter how you serve but that you do.  Make people laugh, give them hope or food or inspiration, console them, challenge them, guide them, nurture and support them. The most rewarding thing one can do with their life is to be of service to our fellow man.  Though there are many satisfactory ways to do that, I believe the optimal way is to take an honest assessment of your talents.  Apply your true talents to what you most like to do.  Dedicate the time and energy required to build your skills.  And then offer that to the world.

Though I am a legendary sleeper, truly love to do it, and have dedicated many nights, afternoons, and meetings to my craft, sleeping is not something the world needs now. So I had to move on to my second option- improvement.  I have improved: systems, houses, fields, curriculums, boats, trails, and access. I feel an instinctual need to make things better. Now of course, better is subjective, but all in all those affected by my improvements have by and large been pleasantly satisfied.  Undoubtedly this need of mine stems from my childhood, as all things do for all people.  And though it is a need, I would stop short of calling it an obsession because, well you-know obsessing would require sacrificing sleep. 

So, I want to be of service, and I want to make things better.  Also, I’m an immigrant. I immigrated to the U.S. with my mom and two younger sisters when I was five years old.  I immediately hated it and wanted to go back to Mexico as soon as possible. The situation we escaped was violent, frightening, and unbearable; yet still, I missed the sounds, the smells, the people of Mexico. That says a lot about how textured, rich and life-affirming Mexico can be, and perhaps even more about how an immigrant child feels when arriving in a foreign land.

 L.A. was frightening, with its lonely sidewalks, wack food and smoggy sky, with the roaches in the kitchen and the gangbangers at the park.  But at least nobody was terrorizing me or beating the shit out of my mom.

Then we moved to the burbs. That’s where I learned that I was supposed to have a dream, the American Dream: I was pledging my allegiance to a flag, learning about how white men in history bravely defeated a kingdom, then killed the savages to forge a new nation. One day I was gonna get to live in a house with a yard, I’d have my own car and a TV.  I learned to play checkers and Monopoly and war.  I played baseball, read MAD magazine, and rocked out to KISS.  I ate pretzels, Thrifty’s ice cream, and Mickey D’s. I got beat up by a black kid then fell in love with his mom.  America really was the land of opportunity.

In America, they assured me, I could be anything when I grew up.  Did I wanna be Dusty Baker or Ace Frehley, it was all up to me- I was going through my Big Cats phase so I opted for Peter Criss.  And that’s when it happened.  Sometime during elementary school in a suburban L.A. neighborhood, with all its big-toothed blond kids, Op shorts and SRA’s, with all its rules for everything, and pledging more allegiance, and smog-days recess, and science class, and President Ronnie of the jellybeans getting shot; sometime between school assemblies and Fourth of July fireworks, somewhere between the Dewey Decimal System and that one immaculate Jewish girl, with her perfect arts and crafts, a creature so stunning, so American, I couldn’t even speak my accented little words in her presence, I fell hard for the American Dream.

Until I got to college. Then I grew out my hair, wore Birkenstocks, and became a communist.  That lasted for a year until at a M.E.Ch.A assembly I heard an actual communist speak.  He was swarthy, bearded, and completely delusional. I love the idea of an egalitarian society, but I’d started working when I was eight and have never been without a job or a side hustle since. I knew from experience people didn’t have an egalitarian work ethic. I was barely 19 but life had already shown me that only in the Declaration of Independence are all men created equal. And as we know, not even there.  

I’d been a capitalist since 4th grade. My brief affair with communism was destined to fail, but it did open the door to my political awakening. It left me with awe and gratitude for democracy. It showed me that the U.S. was full of families like mine, immigrants and nonimmigrants, benefitting from, and struggling against a system that made it possible for them to live in relative safety and achieve their dreams, while at the same time placing enormous obstacles in their way.  It left me with a lifelong yearning to balance the playing field, to help America live up to the promise she made to the tired, poor, huddled masses, to improve the political system of the United States.

There you have it.  This is why I want to establish The American Parliament.  Because I am a reluctant immigrant that fell in love with the American Dream who wants to be of service and make things better. There are many like me.