We like to believe we live in democracies — that our governments reflect the will of the people. But when you look closer, the reality is sobering: on issue after issue, large majorities of citizens want one thing, while governments deliver something very different.
Take the United States as a stark example:
Healthcare: Most Americans say the government should ensure health coverage, yet the U.S. remains the only wealthy nation without universal healthcare. Millions remain uninsured while costs soar.
Gun laws: Roughly six in ten Americans want stricter gun laws, including universal background checks. Still, Congress fails to pass even basic reforms.
Marijuana: Nearly 70% favor legalization. Yet at the federal level, it’s still a Schedule I drug — treated like heroin.
Minimum wage: Around two-thirds of Americans support a $15 minimum wage. The law? Still stuck at $7.25 — unchanged since 2009.
Paid family leave: Most Americans support it. The U.S. is nearly alone among developed countries in offering none.
And these are just a few examples. People want climate action — governments stall. People want money out of politics — but big donors still dominate. People demand transparency on issues like the Epstein files — documents stay sealed.
The pattern is clear: the public speaks, but entrenched systems don’t listen. Power is locked up in the hands of political elites, lobbyists, and special interests. That isn’t democracy — it’s gridlock dressed up as representation.
This is why we need Democracy in a Box (DIAB). A system designed from the ground up to ensure transparency, accountability, and real alignment between public will and public policy.
Imagine governments where corruption can’t hide, where the collective voice of people is directly translated into decision-making, and where leaders truly serve rather than rule. With DIAB, democracy wouldn’t just be a slogan — it would finally become real.
Until then, we’ll keep seeing the same story repeat: overwhelming consensus among citizens, and almost no action from those in power.
It’s time for something different. It’s time for DIAB.
So many of the faults which plague systems of governance around the world could be solved if only we had the means to hold those in power accountable for their actions. And there is no better tool to do this than transparency.
Malevolence, corruption, cruelty… this things can only persist in the shadows. Out in the open, under the scrutiny of a watchful global eye, the weight of the world’s people will inevitably stamp out these injustices.
Imagine if cops and soldiers, while they were working, had to wear an always-on camera that streams the video to a publicly controlled database. The feed could be delayed, but will eventually be made – unaltered – to the public.
An ever watching lens could be doubly beneficial to police, helping to hold wrong-doers accountable while weeding weed out abuses of power. The military could also be helped as streaming cameras ought to deter crimes against humanity, capture their acts of bravery, and show the public what the true face of war is.
Or suppose we demanded that governments account for every single dollar taxed and spent. Lay it all out for us online, make it easy to navigate and simple to understand – not because politicians and civil servants want to, but because we demand it. Mismanagement of funds and institutionalized corruption will be excised as it becomes glaringly evident as to who is taking far more than what they’ve earned.
The same goes for the US Healthcare system. Why not completely expose what’s been going on? It would be a great way to fix the problem. Institutionalized corruption. Collusion between health care elite, insurance companies and the government, all maximizing personal profits at the expense of the public.
We have the technological means to make these things happen. The only reason it hasn’t arrived yet is because there isn’t enough will among the people.
Politicians? The Mainstream Media? Few of them are going to spearhead a ‘show everyone in the world what we are doing behind closed doors’ platform, so it’s up to the rest of us.
Spread the word, make our demand for transparency a part of everyday discussion.
While many would like to see Stephen Harper take the blame, his natural greasiness will probably allow him to slip out from under the impending axe. Defense Minister Peter MacKay might not be so lucky, and who better than him to serve as the whipping boy.
No matter who takes the fall for this fiasco, their untimely departure will do little to restore the Conservative’s credibility with Canadians.
Imagine if cops had to wear cameras where the video is streamed to a public database. How would they act with an unblinking and unbiased witness forever leaving them open to the people’s scrutiny?
Here’s my prediction: there would be less abuse of power. Police misconduct happens when they know they can get away with it. But under and ever-present eye to watch them, they’ll find it much harder to abuse the authority they’ve been entrusted with. (more…)
Samuel Johnson once said that patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. However, if your government no longer listens to the people and politicians are bought and paid for by corporations, dissent, like Howard Zinn says, can be the highest form of patriotism. (more…)
The bill deals with “lawful access” rules, giving police expanded influence for compelling Internet service providers to disclose customer information without a court order. The bill would also ban telcos from admitting that they have provided any such information.
Oh, great. That’s exactly what we need. More sweeping police powers. Why not install CCTV’s in everyone’s home while you’re at it, Mr. Harper?
The Conservative’s lawyers and lobbyists might be able to draft a bill that dances around the problem of being unconstitutional, but they’ll never prevent it from being unnecessary.
Did you also hear about the newly sprouted Wikileaks clones and mirrors? This means the struggle towards democracy and open government has never been stronger. Hooray!
Sure the fickle global spotlight seems to be moving on, but Cablegate is set to be remembered as a pivotal moment – a sign that the balance of power is shifting away from the few and into the hands of more and more people.
Here we go! More evidence to believe that a better world is sitting right upon our doorstep, and another reason to be optimistic for the future =D
Empowering individuals and communities – shifting the power to the people – will continue to be one of the most important steps for ushering in a world of peace. When the world’s system is more in tune with the demands of the vast majority, we will have peace and prosperity for all people.
A great step we can take towards empowering ourselves is to demand more transparency throughout all levels of government and the political system. The more we can see the inner-workings of the system, the more we open up our leaders to public scrutiny, the less corruption and mismanagement we will have.
If we were to demand it, we could have a system that lets us know specific numbers, broken down by region, by city, by department, to know exactly where OUR money is being spent. It could be made widely accessible and easily searched so that all dollars coming in and going out could be tracked.
We could do the same for the electoral process. Knowing were campaign contributions were coming from, and being spent, would give great insight into knowing a politician’s agenda. For example, if Politician X was mostly funded by oil lobbyists and the NRA, we would expect Politician X to vote for pro-oil and pro-gun policies. Of course, if it were right out in the open, this kind of corruption would be hard to hide from the public, which is exactly the idea behind transparency.
Demanding such high-levels of transparency may seem extreme, and certainly frightening to the pork-barrel politicians whose pockets are lined by corporations and special interests, but steps in this direction would help us hold government officials accountable to the people they represent – you and me. The government should be afraid of the people, not the other way around.
Fortunately for us, and for the prospects of world peace, transparency has been consistently increasing throughout the world. The US has been pushing an Open Government Initiative. Citizens and bloggers armed with cell-phones cameras can break damning stories as they happen. Whistle-blower havens like Wikileaks expose corruption in corporations and governments alike.
Our world is becoming more open and increasingly tighter-knit, helping us to hold accountable the actions of those who hold power over us. The more transparency we have in our world’s system, the more power will reside in the hands of the people. The more power we have, the more we can make our world one of peace, equality and prosperity for everyone.
