I want to Open Source the World.
If we as a nation want to serve as a positive example of Democratic policy, I believe it is in our best interest to create and sustain organizational structures involving greater degrees of transparency and accessibility for our citizens. The Open Source development model has a variety of benefits when applied to Public Policy and government, especially at the more granular local level. These benefits include better consensus building across the representative population and volunteer supported auditing of civic activity. No other model offers us such great benefits without either seriously infringing upon our rights or closing off too much of the process.
There have been objections that applying this model could create chaos out of order, but it is not entirely accurate to say that we are in a open and orderly state today. There are infinite layers of obfuscation designed to keep anyone from knowing what is going on. How many people in this country really understand how their government operates? Now consider those who have worked for decades to research and analyze public policy and other government functions. Unless they have been personally involved in either running a campaign or actually running an office, then they still have a limited view of how the system truly operates. What makes it tick? What oils the gears? Who is pulling all those levers?
And this is why I think Open Source is a good idea. If we are truly a government for the people by the people then we need to be informed and involved. And I mean a helluva lot more than punching some chads every two to four years.
The time to explore and implement Teledemocracy and Citizen Empowerment through technology is here.
We must also support our local libraries and voting precincts to ensure that this empowerment is amplified among ALL citizens.
We need to work on the system and we need to get started now. Tell me your ideas!
Don't forget to VOTE in 2004!