For a very long time, I took a great deal of enjoyment from an idea that, while entertaining to me, basically caught the imagination of no one else. It has to do with the fundamental principle of democratic government, which is, to wit: Those who are in wish to stay in; those who are not in desire to be in.
And those of us who really have neither desire mostly wish that both groups would go off somewhere else and cease bothering the rest of us. But they don't. And for whatever reason - love of power, desire to "do good," or the simple wish to be somebody - politicians are forever on the make, and the rest of us have to put up with it.
Or do we?
My idea is based on jury duty, but goes a step farther. Suppose, just suppose, that most electoral offices could be done away with? Not the position; just the election.
It goes like this. Every individual over the age of eighteen (with certain provisos; i.e., not in prison, not in a mental ward, not functionally incapable of doing the job, etc) has their name placed in a computer database. Every two years, randomly, names are drawn to fill positions from county clerk to sheriff, from mayor to county commissioner, from state senator to US Representative (the Senate, having six year terms, would roll up just that often). Unless the selected individual can furnish a valid and compelling reason why they shouldn't serve, they are sworn in, and for the next two years, that is their job.
We give them a salary, and, if necessary, a place to stay. In return, they figure it out as they go along. At the end of two years, they are done in that position. They may never serve in that capacity again, and their name goes back into the pool. Theoretically, it is possible, with a small enough group, for someone to serve in several jobs in the course of their life, and that is just fine. My point is that they should not stay in the same one.
Would things get done? Sure. The permanent bureaucracy of departments would remain, but with the absence of campaigns or fundraising or the ability to profit over the length of time in a position where favors could be dispensed, citizen government of the Jeffersonian ideal becomes possible.
It would be messy. It would be amateur hour in a lot of ways, and I can only imagine the fun a really blunt old coot could bring to the floor of the US Senate, but it would also be a very real way to bring power back to the people, directly, instead of continuing to distance them from it.
Any takers?
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