OS Step 2 / Democratic Party - Internet - New Technology

[Alan Silverman]

Here’s the note as finally decided on.  Most of the editing/rewriting
was done by my old friend, Doug Engebretsen, who received his PhD in
creative writing from Western Michigan University.  Others, including
members of  this community, were also very helpful.

                                                      *****

An Open Letter to the Members of the Democratic Party:

Fellow Democrats,

The past two elections have been disastrous, and while there is no need
to assess blame, (perhaps too much has already been said), we clearly
need to move toward solutions to our problems.  Using the network and
database experience I acquired from many years with IBM, I want to
create an Internet forum where everyone's voice may be heard, and where
the very best ideas which America has to offer can be turned into
solutions benefiting all.

Because of our wealth of intelligent, creative individuals, there is
little scarcity of innovative ideas in America;  What we need is a
mechanism to gather them, and to refine them into practical solutions
for our leaders to enact.

A forum of 290 million people may seem impossible.  It is not.

If the Google search engine can process over three billion web pages and
find the precise information we need, we may be assured that our forum
can do the same. This would not cost a great deal to set up.  The
technology already exists and is in use today.  The key is in connecting
like-minded individuals to share ideas.

This democratic forum would invigorate the Democratic Party and the
American political system as a whole.  I offer you my IBM network and
database expertise toward this project, and my energy to help create it.

Thank you and warm regards,

Alan Silverman
Innovative Technical Solutions
Stone Ridge, NY
(845) 687-0302
alanlsilverman at yahoo.com
http://thefuturevision.virtualave.net/

                                                      *****


The next step is finding prominent individuals to endorse the idea.  I
would  like to approach President Carter first, through his Carter
Center. That would cut through a lot of problems quickly. More
important, the institution we’re trying to create would feed solutions
to the Democratic Party and other institutions, but must remain
conceptually independent of all other institutions and all individuals.
The guiding principals are:
1. Best possible solution, regardless of who proposes it
2. Everything out in the open.

If President Carter were to endorse the idea, and if it could be
associated with, but not under, his Carter Center, it could help
maintain independence.

This link,
http://www.cartercenter.org/aboutus/faqs.asp?submenu=aboutus,  tells how
to get in touch with President Carter:

“All communications with the Carters must be by letter. Note: Emailing
scheduling requests or invitations is not acceptable. Invitations for
President and/or Mrs. Carter must be sent via the U.S. Postal Service
directly to the scheduling office at the following mailing address:

The Carter Center
One Copenhill
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307”

Here is our Catch 22: If our forum already existed, it would be simple
to promote the idea of such a forum.  Failing that, does anyone have a
suggestion how we might maximize the chances of President Carter seeing
and seriously considering our proposal?

Following is a summary of technical aspects of the idea.

Thanks,
Alan


My idea boils down to:
1. Find the best possible solution.   Employ that solution, no matter
who or where it comes from.
2. Break large problems down into smaller ones, applying the same
process to resolve them.
3. Do this via Internet forums, where the greatest numbers of
individuals can propose  ideas and refine them into solutions.

This works because of current technology.  All discussions can be out in
the open and can remain accessible literally forever.  That’s how
inexpensive auxiliary storage and CPU power have become. If someone
questions a choice, one can  review the entire thread leading to the
decision.  Computer programs will help mechanize this. Technologies also
exist to put like thinking individuals together, to summarize solutions,
and to accurately document who first put forth an idea, whose
suggestions amended it,  and when ideas and suggestions were submitted.
I have a set of protocols in mind on how the forum should be run.  They,
of course, may be amended by better solutions.

The greater the population, the more people viewing problems and putting
forth solutions, the better this system should work.   When we can get
6+ billion individuals all working on the same problem, it will be
solved very quickly.  The forum offers a lever, and a place where
potentially all or any of  those 6+ billion can stand.

"Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand, and I will move the
world." -Archimedes, 230 BC

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