1. tNN INTRODUCTION TO the NEIGHBORHOODS NETWORK PART 1 – THE PROBLEM
Thanks for joining us!
This slide presentation introduces the TNN – the problem that it addresses, and why it is the solution.
the NEIGHBORHOODS NETWORK
PART 1 – THE PROBLEM
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2. tNN SESSION CONTENTS PART 1 - THE PROBLEM What is Democracy?
The American Democratic System.
What Happened?
PART THE SOLUTION
We're going to do this introduction to the TNN in two parts.
The first part discusses the root cause of our considerable public problems – the lack of real democracy.
The second describes the genuine solution.
The Solution: Organize!
A Network of Neighborhoods.
tNN is that Network.
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3. WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?
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This picture of the Greek Acropolis reminds us that the word democracy has Greek roots, and thus leads us to find the true meaning of the word by examining the word itself.
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4. tNN WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? Democracy means much more than:
electing leaders to rule
pluralism
right to petition
consent (submission) of the governed
Many tyrannies claim these characteristics.
Nations with governments that hold elections, permit petitions, and have other noteworthy characteristics are not necessarily democracies.
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5. tNN The word democracy means what its Greek roots say:
WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?
The word democracy means what its Greek roots say:
“demos” the people” and
“cracy” rule by
– that is “rule by the people.”
Democracy means this – nothing less!
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6. tNN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
The liberty bell reminds us of a fundamental notion – that we can't have liberty without the means to obtain and perpetuate it – democracy!
Means and ends are closely coupled. You can't have the result you want without having and using the means required to obtain it.
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7. tNN Not all people, even in America, want democracy.
JEFFERSON'S LETTER
Not all people, even in America, want democracy.
Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Henry Lee, August 10, 1824 said this:
“Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties:
I can't say this better than Thomas Jefferson (principal writer of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States.
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8. tNN
JEFFERSON'S LETTER
Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes.
Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise, depository of the public interests.
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9. tNN
JEFFERSON'S LETTER
In every country these parties exist, and in every one where they are free to think, speak, and write, they will declare themselves.
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10. tNN
JEFFERSON'S LETTER
Call them, therefore, liberals and serviles, Jacobins and ultras, whigs and tories, republicans and federalists, aristocrats and democrats, or by whatever name you please, they are the same parties still, and pursue the same object.
The last appellation of aristocrats and democrats is the true one expressing the essence of all.”
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11. tNN THE AMERICAN SYSTEM
The Declaration of Independence was hammered-out here, and the Constitutional Convention was convened here.
The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are the highest level documents that define the American system. They reveal the intentions of America's Founding Fathers.
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12. tNN THE AMERICAN SYSTEM
The better if the Founding Fathers intended that power be held by the people.
The American system was designed so that the citizenry determines policy – generally what is to be done and how.
The government, composed of those elected by the people and representing the people, is then to implement that policy.
This is how the American system of governance was intended to be, and how it must again be!
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13. tNN THE AMERICAN SYSTEM
The citizenry determines policy – “what is to be done.”
The legislatures legislate that policy into coherent law.
The executives administer that legislation into reality.
The Supreme Court ensures compliance with the US Constitution.
The very naming of the branches of government reveal the intentions of the Founding Fathers.
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14. HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK
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HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK
The following diagram shows the American System as it was intended to be:
The People
Determine
Policies
The Legislature
Translates Policies
into Coherent
Body of Law
The Executive
Executes
Legislation
To summarize in a simple diagram.
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15. tNN THE AMERICAN SYSTEM
In America, the politicians are not to make policy.
They are merely public servants. Their duty is to legislate, then implement the “public will.”
In other words ...
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16. WHAT HAPPENED?
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The Founding Fathers could not foresee Industrialization.
With the development of the steam engine and better metallurgy – industrial machinery and railroads became practical. Transportation of people and goods over long distances became economical and routine.
With electricity came electric power and also instantaneous communication over long distances. Centralization of manufacturing became possible as the efficient distribution of goods could be done over vast areas.
The satisfaction of human needs could now be performed on a region-wide and nation- wide basis – it was no longer confined to locales.
With the mechanization of agriculture (think McCormick reaper) lesser numbers of people were needed on farms. A small farming population could now support huge metropolitan areas which manufactured an expanding variety of goods.
The farm and agricultural world and tight communities (think Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books) was diminished. People were forced to the cities to be laborers. Political dominance shifted to the cities and those who dominated them.
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17. tNN WHAT HAPPENED? A REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY, FREE ENTERPRISE
Advertising expertise and techniques, developed during industrialization, go into the
service of propaganda – shifting the population into the role of consumers and removing
the citizenry from its role of determining government policy.
Democracy is denigrated. This 1930's ad is typical. You and I are being told:
1. Forget about government by the people. Just vote every few years to elect politicians.
Let them do the real work of governing.
2. Just drive your car, go to church, and pretend you've got status (see that suit and tie).
A REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY, FREE ENTERPRISE
and OPPORTUNITY, CIVIL and RELIGIOUS LIBERTIES
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18. WHAT HAPPENED?
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Communities of people – capable of self-governance – are destroyed.
The populace becomes a mass of isolated individuals. The capacity to discuss important issues, to agree on solutions, and to cast them into policy mandates, is lost.
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19. tNN
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Founding Fathers did not and could not anticipate:
Concentration of wealth and power during Industrialization.
A centralized Mass Media based on Radio and TV.
The loss of genuine, intimate, everyday community.
The enthronement of corporations in the Gilded Age.
The Founding Fathers could not anticipate the tremendous changes that would come with a powerful technology driven industrialization. In their time, scientific discoveries in physics, electricity and chemistry were laying the foundation for the industrialization that would soon come. But the relationship between those discoveries and that industrialization were not yet clear.
Most important, they could not appreciate how royal and business corporations would become the vehicle for the rich and advantaged to use to leverage their already favorable positions in the industries to come.
The concentration of wealth, privilege and political power that could be gained through the exploitation of technology and labor, using corporations as the organizing mechanism, was beyond their comprehension.
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20. tNN
WHAT HAPPENED?
The unmanipulated communities of people that once shared information, formed the public will, and elected representatives to government from among their own – are gone.
With the destruction of the genuine communities that characterized human communities for a million years and more ...
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21. isolated, unorganized, misinformed
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WHAT HAPPENED?
A RULING CLASS
own &
control
dominate
lobby
Political Parties
MASS MEDIA
GOVERNMENT
A new paradigm emerged – destroying the relationship between the people and their government.
A privileged caste consolidated wealth as never before possible, and used the new means of mass communications (newspapers, magazines, radio, movies, television) to manipulate the population of isolated individuals into a passive, accepting stupor.
Power, over all the institutions of the country, moved, more and more, into their hands.
frames &
manipulates
has power to
tax & police
votes
CITIZENRY
isolated, unorganized, misinformed
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22. tNN
WHAT HAPPENED?
Now we are isolated families and individuals subject to manipulation by those proficient in using the media to advance their goals, their objectives, their policies.
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23. tNN
WHAT HAPPENED?
IT'S EVEN WORSE THAN THAT!
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24. ITS EVEN WORSE THAN THAT
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ITS EVEN WORSE THAN THAT
Ideologies, personalities and banal generalities polarize us.
We are oblivious to real, practical solutions.
We are driven from one another, not to our “common ground.”
We act out of fear, against ourselves, against our common interest.
Through the skillful, but malicious use of the media, we are kept from finding and maintaining our 'common ground' which we might use to regain effective control of our public affairs.
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25. ITS EVEN WORSE THAN THAT
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ITS EVEN WORSE THAN THAT
We’ve been “partitioned up” into mutually hostile ideological camps that cannot come together to find “common ground.”
The Roman Empire used, and all colonial powers use, the same stratagem. It is otherwise know as: “Divide and Conquer.”
We've been turned against one another – made incapable of working together for our common good.
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26. tNN
WHAT HAPPENED?
THE VIEW FROM THE POLITICIAN
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27. VIEW FROM THE POLITICIAN
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VIEW FROM THE POLITICIAN
Politicians are forced to be “two faced.”
While “on the job” they must pursue the objectives of those who come to them on a day-to-day basis – or incur their wrath.
Yet they pretend to represent the public.
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28. VIEW FROM THE POLITICIAN
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VIEW FROM THE POLITICIAN
Each politician must work to ensure:
Good publicity over the mass media.
Campaign contributions for the next election.
Peaceful relations with other politicians.
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29. VIEW FROM THE POLITICIAN
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VIEW FROM THE POLITICIAN
Each must keep the special interests from:
Enticing rival politicians to run against him or her.
Using information about his or her private life against him or her.
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30. VIEW FROM THE POLITICIAN
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VIEW FROM THE POLITICIAN
To do that, he or she must serve the special interests well.
Furthermore, each politician knows that the mass media will almost never inform the general public of his or her specific service to those interests.
All in all, even an angel, if elected, would become corrupt and cynical.
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31. tNN
WHAT HAPPENED?
THE VIEW FROM THE VOTER
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32. tNN
VIEW FROM THE VOTER
WHAT SHOULD BE:
The public develops a mandate for each public office (a list of legislative or administrative items to enact).
A candidate is selected and elected to pursue the mandate.
The public monitors the officials performance.
The public servant is recalled if he or she doesn’t pursue the public will.
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33. tNN VIEW FROM THE VOTER WHAT IS:
We want to vote on issues, but can only vote for personalities.
There's only a weak link between issues and candidates.
Politicians talk banal generalities to us, not specifics.
We don’t know what the politicians are really doing.
We don’t choose the candidates. Somebody else does.
Generally, we can’t recall the public servants.
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34. tNN
SESSION CONTENTS
END of PART 1
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35. tNN WHAT HAPPENED? We've become powerless because we do not:
Discuss public issues among ourselves, learn each others public concerns, nor collaborate to discover the facts and find mutually acceptable solutions.
Select and elect true public servants.
Deliver policy mandates to those servants.
And we do not access information needed to govern.
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