How to Build a Democracy and a Vision for the Future
A suggested Consensus Platform and an answer to the big question:
How do we fix our broken system? It’s just SO messed up.
A: We start by changing the conversation to the process and priorities for fixing it, and taking action on what is most fixable now.
Big money’s media doesn’t report on what they don’t want the 99% to know or talk about. Our task is to leave their noise behind and develop media as a public square, where we discuss the future we want and the steps to get there.
Airtime is wasted on endless outrage, which doesn’t advance us toward the goal of fixing what is broken.
We have to CHANGE THE CONVERSATION, organize, and LEAD, with nonpartisan discussion and legislation against poverty, exploitation, and war, and for an AI-supported world of peace and abundance for all.
Donald Trump threatens Republicans in Congress with: “Do as I say, or I’ll primary you.” Well that’s what voters should do: Vote in the primaries, and elect reps of all parties who work on our behalf, instead of just feeding at the corporate trough and throwing ordinary people under the bus.
A suggested Consensus Platform: Four foundational ideas
for a different kind of world
1
2
We MUST take back our government from corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
We MUST create a new economy that redirects each nation’s wealth to all its people.
3
4
We NEED AI-forward socioeconomic policy development, and transparency about how AI is being deployed in society, as a critical global priority. Now and forever.
We MUST greatly increase diplomacy and global cooperation, and bring an end to needless conflict and exploitive practices. Cooperation, not competition, increases prosperity for all of us.
Watch Andrew Yang’s March 28, 2025 interview where he talks about what he learned from running for president. He explains why Congress doesn’t work for us–why 94% of incumbents win re-election to Congress, when Congress’s approval rating is only 20%. (To change this miserable situation, start here.)
The four foundational topics highlighted above are elephants in the room that are lacking from most political conversations—and most conspicuously from statements from so-called “party leadership”.
These should be prioritized by voters now, because solving our long list of challenging problems depends on these things.
The political drama that dominates the news cycle is just that—a hyper-emotional drama designed to distract voters from the theft of our national wealth.
Nothing big gets done that improves the lives of our people because the ultra-wealthy are telling OUR representatives what legislation to pass. Our job is clear: to make sure candidates commit to a democratic future, and reps who do not consistently and diligently work on our behalf do not stay in office.
Heed the Lessons of Occupy Wall Street
Lesson 1: Be specific about what you want
Lesson 2: Leadership matters
To get a sense of the scale of Occupy Wall Street (if you didn’t see it at the time), just search in your browser for it and then select Images. A lot of us thought OWS would bring change, until it became clear how unfocused it was.
In 2011, the massive potential energy of tens of thousands of people protesting income inequality over a period of months, camping in city parks and securing significant media coverage, was dissipated and lost.
Occupy Wall Street leadership was so informal and disconnected that no clear, actionable demands could be agreed on and sustained.
We can only imagine the glee in Washington and Wall Street as time went by and there were no clear and consistent demands for policies to address inequality, such as increased marginal tax rates.
Instead, what prevailed were the disintegrating ideas that remain with us today: being disorganized, unfocused, and leaderless. In other words, NOT building consensus for priority actions.