Help with Idea / Democratic Party - Internet - New Technology

Alan Silverman asilverman at hvc.rr.com
Sat Jan 11 03:46:34 PST 2003


Birgitt,

Thank you so much for your response.

Step one is just the writing of the letter.  I am not a brilliant
essayist, and that is what this needs.

I am a software person, and software lends itself to tinkering, moving
things around, trying different approaches.   I'm hoping there are
gifted writers/editors out there who can look at the content and shape
it into an essay, the main point being that the DNC should look to
Democratic voters and the American people for answers to its dilemma.
Because of  current technologies, these answers can come from an
Internet type forum.

I am a content person, not unduly wedded to form.  And the final goal,
the content, is establishing a virtual institution where everyone can be
heard and offer their suggestions to the American government.   This is
the time to bring this up, because the Democratic Party needs new
solutions.

Such a forum would have much in common with Open Space, and Open Space
should have much to offer it.  But now the question is how to best
present the idea so that it is noticed and gathers support.

Thank you again,

Alan


Birgitt Williams wrote:
>
> Hi Alan,
> I smiled when I read your exuberance about doing something to move the
> democratic party forward. I encourage you to consider why it might work a
> lot better to use OST either coast to coast meetings or the OS-online
> software to gather more than ideas. I believe step one of your plan will
> generate ideas much as in a brainstorming, but that does not build the
> community and the passion.
>
> Birgitt
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Alan
> Silverman
> Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 7:28 AM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Help with Idea / Democratic Party - Internet - New Technology
>
> First I want to say hello and tell you how happy I am to be here.
> I feel that I am at home.
>
> I worked at IBM in large systems networking, data storage and I/O.
> At IBM there were not many people like me, both highly technical
> and politically liberal, creative, spiritual. I left there in 1999.
> Now there still aren't many people like me, with my technical
> expertise and a deep understanding of how the new technologies
> can transform society.
>
> I'm working on an important idea, part of a matrix of ideas
> I've pondered for a long time.
>
> Steps:
>
> 1. Write an  "Open Letter to the Democratic Party", the gist being
> that, considering outcomes of the past two elections, the Democratic
> National Committee should ask Democratic voters and the American
> people: "What should we do now?"
>
> The ideas will be submitted, discussed, and refined on Internet
> forums. People from anywhere can join. The goal being to create
> innovative solutions, concise well articulated plans with a high
> degree of granularity, intended to address specific problems faced
> by the Democratic Party and America.
>
> 2. Once the letter is written, get prominent individuals to
> sponsor the idea.
>
> 3. With their sponsorship, publish the letter in the NY Times
> or some like venue (Solon Magazine, the Atlantic Monthly?)
>
> The letter describes in detail the confluence of four technologies
> making it possible to gather ideas together and quickly refine those
> ideas into solutions.  The final technological key is digital
> certificates, also called digital signatures.
>
> In the short term we use this forum, these technologies, to figure
> out what the Democrats must do in light of the past two elections.
>
> In the long term it will answer the question, "Who should be making
> decisions and creating policy". The answer being:  "Whomever has the
> best solution," with everyone getting an equal shot and the process
> itself being out in the open for everyone to see.
>
> The Democratic Party is in crisis. If we step in and say, "We have
> the solution to your problem", it will work. It must work, because
> this is the democratic solution. If we don't say this now the
> Democratic Party will surely move in a different direction.
>
> I have written a lot already. Should I just put it all up here for
> analysis and discussion?
>
> Thank you,
> Alan Silverman
> http://thefuturevision.virtualave.net/
>
> Ps.  You may also want to look at
> http://www.hf.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/hnctt/get/show106/19.html?nogifs
>
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