CivicActions

If there's a theme for this election, it's "Change". I actually don't think change is going to come. It's already here. It's a foregone conclusion that the White House will be "Differently Occupied" in January (how's that for PC?). Change has already happened and history has already been made. Welcome to the 21st century. Now let's get to the discussion about addressing the issues of our day.

For the sake of "argument", if McCain and Obama both truly stand for change in the way we govern ourselves (it's clearly NOT WORKING), then they should find it easy to agree to open the debates to 3rd party candidates.

If there's one thing the Republicans believe in, it's the free and open marketplace of ideas, and if there's one thing Democrats believe, it's that everyone has a voice. And if the Internet is anything, it's both. QED.

There is far too much on the line for the conversation to be limited to two hyper-funded media machines (though I'd argue that the Obama campaign is by far more of a movement than a machine. That being said, the Democrats and Republicans are both making and spending more money this year than ever on a campaign).

That is NOT to say, however, that the Democrats do not stand for addressing valid issues: the war (albeit weakly may I interject), renewable energy, the economy, and healthcare. These are truly important issues demanding vigorous debate (we're still waiting to hear from the Republicans about what issues they want to debate after their high school pep rally this week by the Vice Principal).

But who's talking about correcting the Constitutional abuses of the last 8 years? Who's talking about the capitalist charade that threatens to royally implode with credit crisis after credit crisis? Or the radical overextension of ALL of our resources (natural, military, political, moral...) to the egregious profit of corporations owned by friends of the people we "elected". Who has ideas about THESE systemic and vitally important issues?

Bob Barr, Ron Paul and Ralph Nader.

All three bona fide Presidential Candidates (wait 'til Monday - I predict Ron Paul launches a netroots write-in campaign) should be invited to the Presidential Debates to speak and be heard by the analog masses, bless their souls. I personally believe there's little chance of any 3rd party challenger actually winning the Presidency and I don't think THEY think that either (though my imaginary Ron Paul strategy could be significant). The big money machines of "The Two Party System (TM, brought to you by ExxonMobil)" will see to that – at least this time around. And so far they're seeing to it that those voices will not be heard, ensuring a "Fair and Balanced" spectrum of views to choose from.

But it would sure be a positive sign of change in America to have a diversity of opinions and ideas on the national stage addressing government's roles and responsibilities in the most significant period of human history. Not only a positive SIGN, but a positive step towards true democracy. Supposedly that's what we stand for.

It is the free flow of ideas that allows us to arrive at the best solutions to our common problems. And when we come together to build those solutions, amazing things happen. Sound familiar?

As the "Great Online Community(cc)", we have learned the power of opening software, sharing ideas, effort and resources to make great things accessible to everyone. A democracy is by definition open. The networked democracy we have become is driven and supported by Free and Open Source Software. And the true agents of change in the world are using FOSS to make it happen (ask our clients). Open Source is Everywhere. Not just the software, but the ideals.

Larry Lessig and the Change Congress movement take open, networked democracy an order of magnitude further.

If we truly ARE a free and open society, then we should have
open debates about the feature set of our collective future and then make it happen.

May the best ideas win and may Congress be forever changed.