Entrenched government and corporate powers will never change themselves. They have simply grown too large and too powerful. We must share the blame because we and those before us allowed it to happen. Now, we face nearly $6 trillion in growing debt and the looming costs of Social Security and Medicare. Unless we do something about it, we and future generations will have no future. Direct democracy would truly be government by the people. It will give the people direct control over government power and corporate greed by controlling taxation and public policy.

We can begin on the Internet and finish with an amendment to the Constitution establishing direct democracy. The amendment should contain elements like these:

1. Direct democracy should be established with secure interactive voting networks connected to voter's homes. The voters should be able to instruct and direct their elected officials and representatives. All political power should be inherent in the people.
2. All elected officials and representatives should be nonpartisan. No more partisan party politics in the election process or in control of government. No more campaign finance corruption. Conduct the selection of most qualified candidates and all elections over the voting networks.
3. The voters should be truthfully informed by elected officials and representatives sufficiently to make informed decisions.
4. The voters should decide all matters of public policy and taxation with a two-thirds majority vote. The voters should be able to amend the Constitution with a two-thirds majority vote. However, citizen's or state's rights enumerated in the Constitution should not be diminished.
5. Repeal the 12th Amendment and the electoral college. The President and Vice President should be elected by a majority vote of the electorate voting with a run-off election if necessary.
6. Repeal the 16th Amendment (Income Tax). Government should never be able to confiscate the people's income by taxation. The voters should decide how they will be taxed by two-thirds (super majority) vote.

The first and last time direct democracy happened was in Athens, Greece about 2500 years ago. It worked perfectly for 200 years, until the wars of demagogues, kings and rulers took over and drove civilization into the middle ages. Despotic rule dominated the world until representative democracy surfaced through the American Revolution of 1776.

The American Revolution spawned the French revolution and many others around the world. Representative democracy struggled along for 100 years, but has since failed because of selfish special interests, partisan politics and the unbridled growth of bureaucratic governments. The Athenians were the founders of democracy and built a great civilization with direct democracy. Remarkable similarities exist between the early struggles of the Athenian's fragile democracy and our struggles with democracy in America. With pride in citizenship and participation in democracy, we can renovate and finish building our great civilization.
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"Politician" has evolved into a dirty word because the Constitution established a republic that required the people to relinquish too much power. That power turned our elected representatives into politicians corrupted by a system gone wrong. They were supposed to be the best of us to represent the rest of us, but the system has turned them into much less. The Constitution is not the perfect document that we hoped it would be. The Framers simply didn't foresee the future growth of personal and party power in Congress and the presidency.

Unchanged flaws have allowed government to manipulate the Constitution and become an overwhelming faceless power. The controlling effects of that power are felt every day in every community, in every state, and the nation as a whole. Rather than politicians, we need nonpartisan professional representatives that will evolve out of the direct democracy revolution. They should be nonpartisan professional business managers under our policy direction to conduct our government business and be strictly accountable to us. The people would not be expected to micro-manage government. The people would make all the informed major decisions.
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Direct Democracy is Our Solution.

With direct democracy, we will be in control of government and our future. We can and will change everything. Think about it. If we build it, the future will be ours. Talk about it. Tell your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. Communicate it over the Internet. Demand it from government and the media.

The mood of America has been falsely driven by selective pollsters, commissioned by politicians, media and special interests. They poll several hundred or several thousand people, then tell the remaining 260 million of us what we think. It's time for the millions of us to tell them what we really think, what we want, and that we have the will to make it happen.

Direct democracy is making its way with E-mail and gaining more attention on the Internet. People are E-mailing more letters to the editor and the media. E-democracy is having an impact on our elected representatives and government. It's bringing more people together in mutual efforts for more democracy. Cable television's (politically neutral) C-Span has increased democratic activity for people's opinions by telephone, fax and E-mail.

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Direct Democracy in the World

We are not alone... Since The Direct Democracy Center was established, several dozen direct democracy advocacy groups and individuals have launched Web sites promoting direct democracy in America. It's growing and picking up steam. Because of democracy created by the Internet, the idea of direct democracy is inevitable here in the United States and other parts of the world.

It is interesting to note that are already a number of global movements for direct democracy in countries such as our neighbor Canada, the United Kingdom, other European countries and Australia. There is also a world Congress on Direct Democracy. In Greece, the birthplace of democracy, the movement to establish direct democracy is a significant, increasing effort by the people.

Direct education will save the future.

Without question, the public education system in America is a costly and miserable failure. But like the immovable bureaucracies of government, it seems immune to reform. Powerful partisan bureaucratic and union forces like the NEA prevent any significant change because of tenure, self-interest, fraud and the unaccountability of the system. Robbing students of their future doesn't matter. Just throw more tax dollars at the problem, is the standard answer. The result: Institutions of public education have become little more than factories of ignorance and warehouses of violence. A high school diploma from 1945 is more than the equivalent of a four-year college degree today.

Direct education is the solution. Education networks connected to every student's home. The very best educators and education at half the cost. Of course, it would be necessary for students to physically attend certain classes like labs. But the information technology revolution is more than capable to handle the job, now. Existing public education funds could be used to make the conversion to direct education. It's already happening at the college level. Children and students are the future. Fail them and all else fails.