The party should also focus on registering everyone and allow online voting for people who “wish” to vote, not force them into isolation or opposition by being members of a club. As for avoiding self-selected representatives taking over the “party,” why not set up a lottery within each community that selects its representatives, as was once done with the early Greeks and is now done with jury selection. As each person inherently meets the
qualifications being a member of the
eco-cultural community, each should be viewed as a viable representative regardless of age. And if money is an issue, pay them the equivalent of their wage or creative value-time, with each receiving at least what the most earns (ensuring, of course, that all can opt out if they don’t want to serve). Again, start thinking outside the box.
Thinking inside the box, in terms of specific agendas and strategies, the party should be structured in ways to address both short and long-term objectives.
In the short term, the political organization should engage in existing political environments. This would mean structuring and
registering the formal party, the Dignity Party, now, so people could run for office in the existing climate. People with allegiances to the human dignity campaign could also run as democrats, republicans, and/or independents on the platform of creating eco-cultural communities. The point here is to continually
push forward the message of the human dignity campaign and its agenda. Once elected these people and/or actual party could then start acting as a true opposition party, within the existing framework, setting the groundwork for a transitional process.
This would effectively serve four purposes: first, it would challenge and put pressure on existing practices within Congress, state legislatures,
and local governments that continue to rig the system and advance agendas of individual and
corporate elites; second, it would provide a forum for disillusioned members of existing parties to express their dissatisfaction at the way things are working, potentially creating a
coalition that could produce numbers significant enough to block passage of many
harmful acts; third, it would provide a means for disillusioned voters to support candidates with whom they are familiar and believe would act in their best interest, an act that could express itself in pressuring traditional party candidates to at least moderate their positions or actually elect Dignity party members; and fourth, it could serve a counterintelligence function as elected officials would gain access to critical information and actions planned by the powers that be.
In the long term, the political organization must structure itself to keep the idea of change and the overall project of eco-cultural communities at the forefront of the party’s strategies and activities. This means developing an overall strategic marketing and campaign plan that would capitalize on the work of the online courses, salons, and other outreach activities developed during pre-political work. Strategically the focus should be on identifying individuals who demonstrated leadership in the campaign, as they most likely would prove strong leaders within the political party. These individuals may or may not be people who are selected for office, they may well be people who merely serve as organizers, directors, and strategists within the party.
Individuals should also be identified who can serve as spokespersons of the party, fully articulating the requirements for change. As mentioned earlier, research findings on eco-cultural community boundaries should be pushed forward into the existing national debate to inform activities and funding streams of our existing Congress, of various departments like Energy and Natural Resources, and of other agencies or groups like the United Nations, the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, among others. The information should also be used to inform large foundations, as well as gain grant moneys to continue such work as defining eco-cultural communities, promoting work of the simulation labs and simulation
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