Reigniting Democracy

Now that's I've annoyed all my conservative friends, I'll annoy all my liberal friends.

Love him or hate him - Mr. Trump has done the one thing we really needed, which was to galvanize the electorate across the political spectrum. If he accomplishes nothing else positive (as many believe likely) he has already accomplished that, and for that he has made a place in our history for himself.

As an avid believer in democracy and the American experiment, I'd now love to see an organized counter march by those opposing the views expressed today. Not because I disagree with the people who marched today, but because I consider democracy to only be healthy and effective when it is loud, unpleasant, contentious and makes people uncomfortable (if not downright angry).

I'm a huuuuge fan of grassroots democracy - of the people, by the people and for the people. Let's everyone get involved, get activated, and get vocal. Get it all on the table, get the full range of our political interests out for examination and debate. I'd love to see the Washington Mall packed with marchers and protesters every day of the year. It was intended to be a gathering place for We the People, there in front of the Capitol and the White House, where our voices could be heard, and where our representatives could not help but hear - and fear - us.

The mirror casts a harsh reflection, but it is in the mirror we all need to look. We are where we are right now because we have allowed it - the vast, silent, compliant, uninvolved, non-voting and complacent electorate. It is not because of our elected representatives, not because of the influence of special interests and corporations... These influences always exist and have always existed. Their power is inversely proportional to the level of public participation in the elective and political processes. The less we participate, the more power they exert over outcomes.

We are at this juncture because we have become generally disinterested and uninvolved in the political process. When such a small percentage of people bother to vote, they yield their voice and their power to the motivated minority that do vote. The motivated minority in the 2016 election was for Trump; the unmotivated majority stayed home. Those who did not participate are therefore equally responsible for the outcome, if not more so.

The peculiarities of the Electoral College did not allow Trump to steal the election (any more than it allowed JFK to steal it in 1960) - it is simply one of the conditions of the operation of our system that applies equally to all contestants. As I have written before - the larger the voter turnout, the less likely it is that the electoral college result will vary from the popular vote.

Democracy withers from the roots up; it is not killed from the top down. That which you condone with your silence, you allow; that which you allow, you have earned. This is the lesson of Nazi Germany, and Fascist Italy - where democracies were allowed to die through disinterest and apathy. The Nazi's didn't take over through force... the electorate simply yielded power to them in the complicity of silence.

Democracy requires constant feeding, constant participation, and constant vigilance. It does not survive complacency. Today was a magnificent day for democracy in America - let's make sure it doesn't become a footnote in history.

Keep up the momentum and remember YOU OWN IT. It's up to you! Not Washington. Not your political party. Not your President. You.

Make Democracy Great Again!