Let’s Try Democratia – Just For a Term ... - Alcyonenews

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Posted Febuary 19, 2024

Let’s Try Democratia – Just For a Term ...

In the previous column I explored the difference between Democracy and Democratia, the Anglo and the Franco words of our bilingual lot. Democracy “allows” the people to put a word in the ear of those who “govern” and who are other than themselves. In contrast, Democratia prohibits anyone other than the people to “govern” the people, so that the people can govern themselves.

In a Democracy the Monarch (= single ruler), pretends doing Democratia, so as to dissuade people from pursuing change. This leaves the King as secure as his counterpart in a pack of playing cards, almost! The Brits evade discussion and “let sleeping dogs lie”. But one cannot sweep rubbish under the carpet forever.

Democratia is founded on the irrefutable premise that the “whole includes the best”. This is ultimate, because when something better than the current comes about democratia becomes it. This discredits Churchill’s popular fallacy:

“No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

Thus Churchill spoke in 1947, kindling the Cold War. The “other forms” were Socialism and Communism. As for his assertion that “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise”, this is true for Democracy, but false for Democratia. Churchill was out to make War whose first victim is the truth.

Democratia, the real thing, is perfect. This because when something “better” comes along Democratia form into it, by design. It does not get better than that!

Democracy is Static, Democratia is Dynamic. Democracy refers to relics – Democratia hugs the malcontents, those who “forever seek to excel”, those for whom the existing is never “good enough”, those who forever chase the eternally elusive “better than”.

Let’s go for that, let’s make Canada the mighty Steam Loco that will pull us and the rest, from Democracy to Democratia. This journey has to be made for unless it is, humanity will rot.

I suggest we try Democratia for five years, rub an experiment for the span of the Parliament to be elected next, call it the “Term”.

Political Parties (“PoParties”) exist by virtue of the Right to Association and they may speak freely by virtue of the Right to Free Speech. However no one, group or individual, is permitted to control the lawmakers of the Realm, any more than to control the judiciary. Then, when PoParties subjugate the lawmakers, society resembles a race track where the horses are hobbled. And this is no exaggeration.

To begin with we need evict the PoParties from the Parliament, for the Term. It is not silencing anyone, it is stopping for the Term the PoParties silencing the peoples’ “representatives” and turning them into “Rubber-Stamps” or “Trained-Seals”. It is banning PoParty “Whips” cracking over the people’s representatives. It is preventing the PoParties from un-electing whom the people have elected.

Candidates for election would provide a one-page narrative about their candidacy. These will be assembled into a “pamphlet”, printed and distributed to electors. A second pamphlet to follow mid-campaign and a third one about a week before balloting day. Candidates may inform on their good-looks (lawn sign fashion) and/or convey a text in small, or a slogan in large print, as they see fit. Hopefully, this will result in beneficial debate. No other publicity would be allowed, this to protect the Public’s Right to a fair evaluation of the Candidates.

This will of course shrink or eclipse the corrupt election-purchasing which has become second nature to politicans and equally abhorrent to the population. It would also make elections “affordable”.

The elected Members of Parliament (”MP”) are to select, “hire & fire” the Prime Minister (“PM”) and the Sector Ministers (“SM”), such as the Education, Agriculture, Justice, Communication, Tranportation Sector Ministers. This because Democratia is self governance of the people, and the PM is not a Monarch (=sole ruler); and the Ministers are not the “PM’s cabinet”.

The Parliament will open portals (“Ideas Bank” style) to receive suggestions for legislation, from citizens, the PM, the SMs and, of course, from the Judiciary. These for review by the people at large prior to been tabled for consideration, so as to avert “fait accompli” situations, which are anathema to Democratia.

Portals should also be open to serve each Sector Ministry, to receive and expose matters pertaining to each Sector.

The Parliament and the Sectors are to operate information outlets, to publish “News Releases” and inform the people as needed to function as citizens of a Democratia.

No, this will not result a deluge of messages crashing the system. When communications are in the public eye and within earshot, people tend to think carefully what they say.

There are more particulers to such an experiment, none of which is insurmountable, all of which we can overcome if and after we sidetrack the PoParties, who are mountainous roadblocks to Democratia. Yes, I know ... but if we do not dream we will never have a dream come true!