QUESTION 1: What has/does/would motivate you to actively participate in our governmental processes?

ANSWER 1:
Has/does/would motivate?: (a) some seek power and self gain
(b) some seek more more fair and responsible government

I personally see a gradual erosion of our society, as it grows fiscally and morally bankrupt.

We are the last stages of a vicious cycle:
. . . until we, someday, understand what we are doing that perpetuates it, and learn to stop doing it.

The problem is insufficient Education, Transparency, and Accountability, but no lack of Power. There is rarely a lack of Power.

So, the solution must start with Education, which leads to Transparency, which leads to more Accontability, and finally yields Responsibility.
______________________
QUESTION 2:
And, what has/does/would motivate you to actively participate in eliminating the rampant corruption within our government now?
ANSWER 2:
What Has/does/would motivate?:
(a) pain and misery
(b) loss of freedom

The answer is: Pain and misery motivates people to seek change.

When things get bad enough, people will become more involved.

But, how bad can it get?

Look at North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Lybia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, and dozens of other nations in the Sub-Saharan regions of Africa.

So, things can get pretty bad. The people of some nations are severely brainwashed (like North Korea). Some have taught hatred and continue to do so.

What will get the attention of Americans?

Take your pick:

War?
Depression?
Continued Erosion of the Constitution?

Has the human species really progressed much in the last 5000 years ?

Maybe a little.
It is a gradual process.
2 steps forward, and 1.999 steps backward.

Education is required to keep from learning the hard way (again).

Yes, Dan, education is the key, but it requires people listen and act on the new information. VOID does educate people, but it is obviously not enough to create the requisite action this nation requires.

So many people believe that progress should be easy that they resist anything that isn't. I don't entirely understand how that myth was created, considering that change (which is what progress is) is rarely easy, and usually it's not good when it is.

While voting out incumbents certainly is easy; spreading the message is not. Spreading the message takes committment and active participation, which is what we are a bit short on.

I'm hoping somebody, some where might volunteer what it would take for them to personally act on the behalf of their own self-interests in regards to the corruption within our own government.

Stephanie,

Too many people are not yet disgusted enough with incumbent politicians, and they have not yet felt the full weight of the inevitable consequences their own negligence, apathy, complacency, and re-electing the very same irresponsible, corrupt, bought-and-paid for incumbents that use and abuse everyone.

Ignorance is as rampant as corruption in government.

Not too long ago, I was one of those people.

Now people ask:

"Why did you leave your party?"

Because parties are not the solution.

Both main parties just take turns using and abusing the voters.

Both main parites are irresponsible.

And voters keep re-electing them.

It appears most voters don't take their vote serious. Many don't even bother to vote. Too many simply don't care.

QUESTION: How do you make them care?

ANSWER: Show them how their government is hurting them.

That requires education, which requires money.

Even then, some will ignore it, because they are too fond of wallowing in the petty partisan warfare. They are too brainwashed. This is not said in malice. It's simply the facts.

Corruption is always with us to some degree, but I believe it has been growing worse for several decades, because our government is FOR SALE more than ever.

Influence peddling is rampant. Money buys elections. The winner of 95% of elections is the one that spends the most. Big money influences government. Global corpocrisy and corporatism influences governments all over the world. We are in a new era of global pillage and exploitation by a very few with vast wealth and power.

And those few with vast wealth and power use our own greed and selfishness to control us.

That's why Education is so important.

We might be able to spread the message if we had the money.

That makes you wonder why someone with money does not spread the message?

No one person is likely to use their money to recommend voters oust incumbent politicians, since their wealth appears to be a result of the environment that is a result of the government they are protesting.

No one with vast money and power will feel compelled to change things.

Those that suffer the most are those from the lower to middle class income groups. They are those that always suffer the most.

But, it is their own fault, because they have the right to vote, but keep re-electing the very same irresponsible, bought-and-paid-for incumbent politicians, no matter how irresponsible and crooked they are.

They have the power right under their noses to change that, but they largely ignore it.

So, why change?

Hence, the problem is ignorance, which can only be overcome by education.

Since selfishness (self gain), pain, and misery is what motivates people, the solution is to show how they are being hurt by their government, and the voters' own negligence, apathy, complacency, and continually re-electing the same irresponsible incumbent politicians, over and over.

If you can show people how they are being harmed, then they will be motivated to take action.

How are people being hurt?

The ways are numerous:
(1) tens of thousands of cases of abuse of eminent domain laws (condoned by the Supreme Court);
(2) a dysfunctional legal system; abused presidential pardons; selective application of the laws;
(3) irresponsible intelligence information used to justify war;
(4) election fraud;
(5) Gerrymandering;
(6) influence peddling; FOR-SALE government;
(7) unsecured borders to get cheap labor and votes, despite the net loss of $70 billion annually, and the untold cost of crime, job displacement, and disease;
(8) astronomical debt being heaped onto future generations (and ourselves);
(9) ponzi-schemes (Social Security, the Federal Reserve);
(10) health care crisis caused by government meddling and greedy insurance corporations;
(11) irresponsible energy policies and resulting energy vulnerabilities (largely a result of corpocisy and corporatism);
(12) foreign policy that turns our allies against us;
(13) falling median incomes for 6 years, increasing foreclosures, increasing crime, increasing poverty; increasingly unaffordable education and healtcare;
(14) perversion of the laws to do the very things they were supposed to prevent;

Unfortunately, too many don't yet realize the magnitude of the growing problems.

But, they will someday, since such a system can only implode eventually.

Unfortunately, it appears that it is in our nature to repeat the cycle over and over:

,-(1) Corruption, oppression,
| (2) courage, Responsibility, rebellion,
| (3) liberty, growth, abundance,
| (4) selfishness, complacency, fiscal irresponsibility
| (5) apathy, dependency, fiscal & moral bankruptcy,
` - - return to step (1)

Progress is ever so slow (2 steps forward, and 1.999 steps backward).

Will Americans be the first to make the jump to the next level?

Will it happen in our lifetime?

Will it ever happen for the United States?

Personally, I don't think we are that far away from an economic melt-down. That may be the motivation for voters. But, that may not be sufficient either, unless voters start holding elected officials accountable. The easiest way to do that is the one thing they were supposed to be doing all along, always.
Stop Repeat Offenders.
Don't Re-Elect Them.

Yes, education to combat the ignorance of contemporary society is necessary and requisite, but it is also in the hands of that self-same government that is abusing us in the first place, teaching that the abuse is good and natural...for our benefit instead of against it.

I'm twenty-six years old, and while I do not know you're exact age, I know you were educated (as a child) before I was. From our many interactions (and those I've had with others who are at least a decade older than I am) I've learned that my education in comparison is appalling. And I was in the excelerated classes where the expectations were relatively high. This scares me more than I can possibly express. As per my formal education history past the Reconstruction Era (post-Civil War) doesn't exist and more appallingly doesn't matter enough to be taught. The public education my children are receiving is worse still.

The fact of the matter is the masses are taught to believe they have no power and that they should NOT have power when it comes to affecting their government. The people of my generation were taught in school to be compliant little yes-men, which is directly related to how much "resisting authority" and "rebellion" was and is apparent in my generation youth -- whom now are adults and often don't even know it.

This is what we're up against. And it is also why I have so much trouble understanding and accepting why those who understand and agree with the mission statement VOID has refuse to act in a cohesive manner. The longer we wait the more we will have to overcome to make change possible. People of my generation were taught that no matter what one does, no matter how miserable one's life is, no matter how much misery one causes one's fellow human beings, we should feel good about ourselves.

I can't find the exact quote (I'll have to ask my husband for a better cue), but there's an ancient political philosophy that goes something to the effect: keep your people happy (or well-fed) and stupid and you won't lose control of them. That seems to be the direction we're headed.

. . . but it [education] is also in the hands of that self-same government that is abusing us in the first place . . .

Yes, too many arrogant politicians want to keep the voters ignorant, which is why they fuel the petty partisan warfare. They use that common detractor (i.e. fueling the partisan warfare) to distract voters from the politicians' own malfeasance and incompetence.

. . . I've learned that my education in comparison is appalling . . . This scares me more than I can possibly express.

Yes, Stephanie. Our public education continues to decline in quality as the cost increases. The reason is because public education has become top-heavy with do-nothing, over-paid administrators. There used to be one administrator per 20 teachers. Now there is one administrator per 4 teachers. Same way with corporations. CEOs and CFOs receive extremely high salaries and bonuses. All of it is an abuse of power, which results from ignorance, which results from lack of education. It's a vicious circle. We are not in the best part of the cycle. Good times will return again someday, when people are less selfish and more honest, but only after things have deteriorated to the degree that they all have to learn the hard way again, from the resulting pain and misery of their selfishness, laziness, and abuse of power.

Also, higher education is becoming less and less affordable, as are many other things, such as healthcare, fuel, housing (a bubble that's about to burst soon), public education, etc.

College is becoming much too expensive.

Thus, the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer, and the middle income class continues to shrink, as it has for many years (median wages have continued to decline since 1999). A mere 5% of the people in the U.S. have 60% of all the wealth, and their wealth is growing as the government becomes more and more FOR-SALE, where 90% of all elections are won by the bought-and-paid-for politician (usually the incumbent) that spends the most money.

And voters keep re-electing irresponsible, bought-and-paid-for incumbent politicians, because they are brainwashed and/or ignorant (and I used to be one of them).

Stephanie,
You should be commended for learning at your young age what others (like me) took much longer to realize. You are smart. You see the corruption of both political parties. You are not falling for the petty partisan warfare. You see both and realize that parties are not the solution, because both just take turns abusing the voters, and use petty partisan warfare to fool the voters, and seduce them into corrupt politicians' favorite time-waster and distraction: petty partisan warfare

I truly believe in the following cycle (even though each iteration is a little different):

,-(1) Corruption, oppression,
| (2) courage, Responsibility, rebellion,
| (3) liberty, growth, abundance,
| (4) selfishness, complacency, fiscal irresponsibility
| (5) apathy, dependency, fiscal & moral bankruptcy,
` - - return to step (1)

A renown economist (Harry S. Dent) also makes note of a cycle (an 80 year cycle).

It appears we are at the end of the cycle, and beginning to return to step (1), as evidenced by the massive number (tens of thousands) of cases of abuse of eminent domain laws (legal plunder), flagrant abuse of presidential pardons, a government that is basically FOR-SALE and controlled by a few with vast wealth and power, spying on citizens, arresting and detaining people indefinitely without charging them, rampant ignorance of voters that tolerates it, and foolishly keep re-electing the very same people that use and abuse them.

Education is the first step.
Education that emphasizes the importance of Education itelf (always), Transparency, and Accountability. Without that, Power always breeds corruption. Only Educations, Transparency, and Accountability can yield a Responsible use of Power.

As long as voters have the right to vote, there is a chance for improvement now. The remedy is right their under our very own noses. Voting was always supposed to be about voting out irresponsible incumbent politicians. Not pulling the party lever (i.e. voting a straight party ticket). That's the lazy way of voting. That's how corrupt incumbent politicians in all parties use and abuse us, and we empower them to continue it by pulling the party lever.

Voters need to understand that they would be doing themselves and everyone else a huge favor by voting out irresponsible incumbents, always.

Many things would suddenly begin to improve if voters would merely hold their elected officials accountable.

Ignorance is a result of laziness.

At the root of so many problems is laziness, which breeds all sorts of other bad things.

Voters must stop being lazy and stop pulling the party lever, and start voting for more responsible people, and stop re-electing incumbent politicians that have already proven to be irresponsible, corrupt, greedy, and threatening the future and security of the nation.

I don't know whether commendation is in order. I had the "advantage" of finding WatchBlog early and having a corrupt Democrat as my governor while the Dems over there were complaining about Bush -- it's scary how the same complaints (with the exception of the wars) could be made about Bush and Doyle.

As for the "party lever," imo, that should never have existed in the first place. The fact that political parties exist to the extent they do, and have so much of the political power in this nation, exemplifies how far we've drifted from the intentions of the Founding Fathers. But, again, that's not something they teach in public class rooms. All the history that reflects poorly on the way our contemporary government is handling the business of running this country is conveniently excised from public education -- you have to learn it on your own.

Yes, you do deserve to be highly commended.

Yes, you are right.
We have drifted very far.

The U.S. used to be a real leader in the world.

But, what bothers me most is the rampant greed in our do-nothing, FOR-SALE government.

What bothers me almost equally as much is our complacent, lazy, ignorant electorate (and I used to be one of them) that keeps re-electing them, over and over, regardless of their rampant greed and corruption.

Greed is, unfortunately, something we're not likely to do away with in a capitalist nation (and I'm not one to suggest we change that, though I readily admit that part of my intention in getting a business degree is to prove that business ethics don't have to be an oxymoron for the business in question to be successful). And I agree greed is a dangerous vice, but that is not what worries me most about our government. The sense of superiority the feel towards us, the constituents, worries me far more.

One of the things I have learned from reading Democracy In America by Alexis de Tocqueville is that the constitutional, the legal, and the social differences between a Democracy and an Aristocracy are three different things that should be considered separately. Constitutionally we have a democratic republic. Legally...we don't, because legally for us to be a democracy the same laws have to be applied EQUALLY to all members of society to be a democracy...and we do NOT have that. Socially, we are also not a democracy, because the power of the few is significantly more impactful than the power wielded by the many. We are LOSING our cultural and legal heritage in favor of the few, which is protected by a Supreme Court which consists of the few, and THAT concerns me far more than the greed apparent within our government. If our government officials were held equally accountable by law as we, the citizenry, then their greed could be readily checked. Unfortunately, somehow this nation has lost that, and it's difficult for me, at least, to track down how, because it happened before I was born. Perhaps it happened long before I was born, but I don't know because my knowledge of history is so sketchy the closer we get to the present.

And the scariest part of all of it, at least to me, is that, because Americans still elect their government, they get the government they deserve. Somehow our own incompetence as a people has created this problem, because we've always had the power to stop it...and yet the corruption and elitism continues.

Capitalism is good.
But not when the laws are ignored.
And our government does not set a good example, which is why the likes of Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, Ebers, and other crooked CEOs think they can cook the books, and cheat investors.
The Federal Reserve is one huge ponzi-scheme, as is Social Security.
Anything where there is opportunity for self-gain also requires Transparency and Accountability.
Otherwise, we have Capitalism run-amuck (rampant greed).

Greed can be controlled by enforcing the law (accountability).
It's easier to enforce the law, if simple steps are taken to ensure Transparency.

Education about the human tendency toward greed and immoral behavior for self-gain, the need for Transparency to reveal the crime, and the need for Accountability to punish and discourage it all that is needed. You, and a very few like you truly understand those fundamental basics.

A good example of ways to make things more Transparent is to make it difficult to hide pork-barrel, and hide the reasons for voting for or against a BILL. That's why ONE-PURPOSE-PER-BILL would be effective in reducing irresponsible pork-barrel. This is not a new idea. But, politicians won't vote for a ONE-PURPOSE-PER-BILL amendment no more than they will vote for Campaign-Finanace-Reform (an any law that will limit their opportunites for self-gain and ways to secure their incumbency).

The only real solution left is for voters to do the one simple thing they were supposed to be doing all along. Vote out irresponsible incumbents, always. It's that simple, but apparently so elusive.

Yes, the level of greed, apathy, complaceny, selfishness, and dishonesty in government (and the electorate too) is scary.

It appears to be a cycle.
,-(1) Corruption, oppression,
| (2) courage, Responsibility, rebellion,
| (3) liberty, growth, abundance,
| (4) selfishness, complacency, fiscal irresponsibility
| (5) apathy, dependency, fiscal & moral bankruptcy,
` - - return to step (1)

I wish there was some easy way to motivate people to vote out irresponsible incumbent politicians, but it's a chicken-and-the-egg problem.
We are in steps (4) and (5), and returning to step (1) (above). We are in an era of selfishness, and fiscal & moral bankruptcy.

Without sufficient Education, Transparency, and Accountability, there is nothting left to control the abuse of Power.

So the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, as evidenced by falling median wages, and the growing wealth of a tiny number of people with vast wealth and power that abuse it to control and manipulate governments and corporations (corpocrisy, corporatism, corporate welfare, etc.).

The voters, with the right to vote, have the Power to stop it, but don't because too many are morally bankrupt and too lazy to even bother to vote. That may sound harsh and brutally blunt, but it is simply the truth.

But, eventually, the real motivator will be the consequences (the pain and misery) the voters have brought onto themselves.

Voters have a choice. Keep doin' what we're doin' (which ain't workin'), or mitigate the damages now, be responsible, and elect more responsible government, and vote out those that are irresponsible (which may be most, if not all incumbent politicians).

Reject the petty partisan warfare.
Reject the sneaky attempts of crooked politicians to seduce us into the distracting and time-wasting partisan warfare.
Reject the myth that parties are the solution . . . the two main parties erely use the partisan warfare to take turns using and abusing everyone.
Stop Repeat Offenders.
Don't Re-Elect Them !

Stephanie,
I agree with you. Our nation is losing its moral compass . . .

We are LOSING our cultural and legal heritage in favor of the few, which is protected by a Supreme Court which consists of the few, and THAT concerns me far more than the greed apparent within our government.

It's not the first time, and probably won't be the last. It seems the times of freedom and abundance lead to times of selfishness and moral & fiscal bankruptcy.

That's the theory I happen to believe. Nothin' fancy.

Most likely, only education about what caused that, to truly understand the human factor that creates the era of selfishness (the desire for security and prosperity with the least effort and pain) can ever lead to a solution, and a way to avoid it.

All the complex theories are not necessary, and fail to address the basic, root causes. It's not nearly as complicated as some want to make it out to be. When we truly understand the human factor, and design our systems with Transparency to reveal immoral behavior, and ensure there is Accountability to discourage immoral behavior and punish illegal behavior, then we will be back on the road to freedom and abundance.

So, will we learn to skip all the bad steps and remain at Step (3) ?

Maybe.
But, not likely this time around.
It may be too late.
Our nation is already fiscally bankrupt.
Our government is morally and fiscally bankrupt.
Our electorate is apathetic, complacent, selfish, and brainwashed.
We hope for change (or we would not be here), but I suspect we will have to learn the hard way again, and things will get a lot worse before they can get better, because we have not yet learned how to stop the cycle. We do not learn from our history, so we are doomed to relive it.

Responsibility = Power + Education + Transparency + Accountability

Corruption = Power - Education - Transparency - Accountability

Dan,

I do agree with your theory:

It appears to be a cycle.
-(1) Corruption, oppression,
| (2) courage, Responsibility, rebellion,
| (3) liberty, growth, abundance,
| (4) selfishness, complacency, fiscal irresponsibility
| (5) apathy, dependency, fiscal & moral bankruptcy,
- - return to step (1)

But I disagree with what step our nation is at. You say we're on 4, moving to 5. But, I think we're solidly at step one, moving to step two; because organizations like VOID, those that demand productive change, are increasing all across the nation. The strength is there. It's just a matter of harnessing it and mobilizing it.

Perhaps, if nothing else, we can learn how to have a peaceful rebellion without stirring up too much strife in the process?

Stephanie,

Yes, you may be right, since we certainly have rampant corruption in government.

The oppression is there too, and growing worse, as evidenced by the tens of thousands of abuses of eminent domain laws (legal plunder), people being held without being charged, politicians above the law, abused presidential pardons, spying on citizens, etc.

The laws are being perverted to do the very things they were supposed to prevent. It has been going on for decades, but it is growing worse. And our government is becoming increasingly irresponsible, as evidenced by its fiscal & moral bankruptcy, starting wars based on flawed and extremely irresponsible intelligence, plundered entitlements and huge ponzi-schemes (Social Security, Federal Reserve, etc.), always printing more money to spend more money, perpetuating inflation and economic instability, etc., etc. etc.

Yes, you may be right.

I wish we could get back to Step (3) without the inevitable pain and misery that is sure to occur in Step (2), but it may be impossible to get to Step (3) without experiencing the motivating pain and misery, first.

Well, it's my hope that people like you and I can help mitigate that pain and suffering...and perhaps teach people to choose responsibily the first time in the process. We will see.