The idea of open citizen voting directly on all issues terrifies me. I see democratic representation as a way to pay someone to read and understand all of the legal jargon most people won't take the time to bother with.
People don't take time to read their medicine bottle warnings, let alone the contents of the new Higher Education Act. I'm honestly afraid that righteous attitudes fueled by ignorance would rule.
It would put an incredible amount of power in the hands of mass-media as well (more than they already have). Well-designed and well-timed stories can sway public opinion waaaay too easily.
Combine that with how the government seems to handle IT security issues in these type of large-scale projects, and you have a recipe for disaster.
The idea of open citizen voting directly on all issues terrifies me. I see democratic representation as a way to pay someone to read and understand all of the legal jargon most people won't take the time to bother with.
Except they don't really either.
They typically have a rather large staff to do that for them, and paid lobbyists fill in the rest, along with large contributions of course.
To be honest, I find this lack of faith in the intelligence and integrity of your fellow man/woman rather disturbing, especially in this current social-justice warrior environment where we are all depending more on each other to get things right.
People don't take time to read their medicine bottle warnings, let alone the contents of the new Higher Education Act. I'm honestly afraid that righteous attitudes fueled by ignorance would rule.
It would put an incredible amount of power in the hands of mass-media as well (more than they already have). Well-designed and well-timed stories can sway public opinion waaaay too easily.
Combine that with how the government seems to handle IT security issues in these type of large-scale projects, and you have a recipe for disaster.