Ostracism: Fuller Democracy
To Prevent Our Problems

I have no doubt of the power and the duty of the executive,
under the law of the nation, to exclude enemies
of the human race from asylum
in the United States.

A. Lincoln

In Ancient Greece, the cradle of democracy rocked in more ways than one to solve public problems. The Greeks used sheep or goat shoulder bones not only for electing leaders but for exiling non-leaders. Once a year, the question was put before the polity, "Who has caused more problems and harm to our way of life?" Upon on the bones, citizens wrote who they thought was a public problem. Into a common mound the bones were cast for public counting.

The citizen with the largest number was required to leave Athens for 10 years--no bones about it.. No bodily harm. No property confiscation. Just simple exile. The purpose was to provide a final higher authority than the politicians of the day in deciding who was a public menace. That higher authority was logic behind legal which politicians have too readily mistranslated for personal gain.

In these days of increasing influence peddling, investigation derailing, and election theft, America needs to re-sharpen the both sides of the Greek sword to cut our problems down to size. We need voting to ostracize our public menaces who illogically steal with the defense of "But it's legal!" We need a process to proscribe those who skirt the higher laws above the legal laws.When America has the best Congress that money can buy, how honest is legal? On a regular, methodical and democratic basis, Americans should have the right to ostracize fellow citizens who find legal loopholes to circumvent the spirit of law.

Ostracism could very well resolve a criticism and solve a problem of democracy that extends back to the Cradle of Democracy. Democracies self-destruct. Why haven't democracies lasted? Democracies reflect the old adage about family wealth: The first generation creates it with a subsequent generation destroying it. (Ostracism does exist in America as a form of banishment in some states after conviction for crimes--Georgia and County Attorney.)

Democratic governments come into existence when the rule by a few causes economic collapse: Golden Greece, Republican Rome, and American Experiment. The rule by a few cannot address the problems of the many. With democratic reform, a society begins to solve its problems. After a number of generations, the wealth and power becomes concentrated in the hands of a fewer few. While the political system may be called democracy in name, in fact, it has returned to rule by a few. As fewer and fewer have the power to solve problems, the problems grow until the economic system collapses. Democracy does not fail. Rather, people become less and less democratic.

Two events of the last twenty-five years do not portend well for American democracy.

• Event number one was concentration of more wealth into the hands of a few: In 1976, the top 1% of America owned 20% of America's wealth. In 2000, the top 1% owned 40% of America's wealth. Did they create this new wealth ownership? Or, did they bribe the habitual politicians to dictate money kickbacks? During the same period, the average American family had to work 20% longer to have the same standard of living. Is there a connection? These questions are treated more fully in Wealth Transfer. A somber figure: In the countries that suffered civil upheaval in the last 25 years (Far East, Eastern Europe, Russia, Central America and South America), the top 1% owned more then 40% of the country's wealth. The Bush Tax Plans will speed up the transfer of wealth, e.g., estate taxe--enslave or emancipate? Nothing better symbolizes how the republicans are the rich pubers than the name of the Y2K president.
• Event number two was the concentration of political power into the hands of a few. The Year 2000 election was a total rejection of democracy from before the start until after the finish.
  • Before the start, both presidential candidates (Gore and Bush) were anointed before the first primary vote. Both were not only habitual politicians, but sons of habitual politicians. What happen the last time we had hereditary rulers?
  • During count: Voter Registrars and staff were universally dishonest, easier to find a fraudulent count than an honest count--see voting fraud.
  • After the finish, the United States Supreme Court usurped the democratic process of the legislature resolving the Presidential contests. A few of five ruling along political lines decided the outcome of the election. The five elected the next President.
    
    In many states, e.g., Virginia, the majority of state legislators have no opponent.

What results from events one and two? Enron ad infinitum.

Democracy is not failing America. Th e political leadership is less and less democratic. Politicians are failing America and humanity.

On a monthly basis, the ostracism submissions of Global Democracy are transformed into brain bees. At the end, the seven finalist will have an opportunity to prepare a rebutal of the charges which they can post on a webpage. After a week, the participants in the ostracism will vote on whether the finalists should be ostracized.

Length of ostracism is based on the percentage of "damnos" to the whole vote. If a finalist is voted 100% then the length of ostracism is ten years. If 50%, then five years. If 37%, then 3. 7 years. Basically, up to 84 Americans will be asked each year to leave America because they have been unAmerican.

Ostracism is for private rather than public violation of human rights: The goal of ostracism is to raise individuals' assessment of whether they are stealing rather than creating wealth regardless of the legal status, awareness or definition of stealing the time of humanity. 

The tribunes of the citizens are inviolate while in office: Elected federal and state executives, judges and legislators are immune during the tenure of their office from ostracism but not immune from the impeachment process. An individual's ostracism can be negated by the President, Supreme Court Justice or Governor resigning in protest provided said official's term is not half over. Former public officials ostracized will have their pensions suspended during ostracism.

Ostracism can prompt private and public decision-makers to think twice before acting outside the spirit of the legal law and beneath the principle of a higher law. One thing about Enron's massive legal and audited theft was the worries that surfaced among the culprits when the word "prison" was used by investigators. Would Enron have occurred if the perps knew they were not outside of punishment if t hey knew being inside the laws of corrupt politicians was not an excuse preventing ostracism?

It should be noted and appreciated that both legal and logic derive from the original regular work of mankind--gathering, legein. Literally and pragmatically, the logic of work must take precedence over legal. If the politicians legally disenfranchise the workers from their wealth by forcing the citizens to work longer weeks and lives for less, the logic of earning one's daily bread by the sweat of one's brow has been corrupted. Corrupt politicians have been piling illogical legal laws on the logical bridge of survival. It is only a matter of time before the bridge breaks.

(The linguistic fountainhead of "cracy" in democracy was grounded in the formalization of dividing up the "work" by people formalizing "rules" which is the more recent interpretration of "cracy.")

Interestingly parallel to the semantic seeds of legal and logic is the common root of worth and wealth. Because economists--bless and ostracise their hearts--have built schools of thought based on divorcing the symbols from the substance of wealth, politicians have had numerous experts to justify the legal over logic when increasing the wealth of campaign contributors when the contributors have completed no problem-solving act of any worth. Better democracy will reduce the schism between logic and legal. Better economists will reduce the divorce of symbols from substance--lifehours. Better capitalism will reward the individuals with wealth whose worth comes from solving real problems. (also visit Wealth Transfer through laws  is still theft)

If the Founding Fathers had incorporated ostracism into the Constitution, America would not be facing its present economic and political mess. Nor would America be facing the problem of how to untie this Gordian Knot. Hopefully, it will be renovation not revolution of our political structures.