Political Emergence
I gave up raging against the machine last year. But I'm not done trying to change the world. I'm calling this game Political Emergence until someone comes up with something more catchy.
1. Post a couple policy positions you really care about on your blog.
2. Link to and comment on what other people post.
3. Post, link or comment when you see positions you care about escape the blogsphere into the mainstream media.
4. No name-calling, or character assassination.
5. No my-candidate-rocks-your-candidate-sucks.
6. No conspiracy theories.
Just your honest policy positions.
Here's a couple that have gotten me fired up lately.
Torture
"We do not condone torture" is a feeble double-negative leaving lots of room for interpretation. Between the lines it says maybe torture is okay if no one is looking. Be it hereby declared we the People of the United States expressly forbid torture. Anyone working with or for the People found to be engaging in torture will be treated as criminals. We boldly and unambiguously claim the moral high ground here. All US agencies, allies, and citizens, hear this message loud and clear: torture is forbidden. Conduct your investigations and interrogations accordingly.
Terrorism
We're done with the "war on terror" rhetoric. We're not at war. Be it hereby declared we the People of the United States regard terrorism as a crime against humanity, not as an act of war. As such, we will pursue terrorists through criminal investigation and detective work, not through war.
Seems worth saying a little more about the game. This is about emergence, so the details will change as more people play. There are some values that I'd like to persist as the game emerges. Some really cool things happened in Howard Dean's presidential campaign, but then kinda died when he lost. This game and the policies it produces will have more longevity if it remains independent of specific politicians or parties. The game will be more fun if we get conflicting policy statements and end up debating issues on their merit instead of on their red-blue state. Let us see how We The People can influence political policy and the media. Let's trust that the most compelling and effective ideas will find their way into the culture and maybe even change the world.
I'll be watching delicious and technorati for political_emergence