What Democracy Looks Like: Debates

I'm trying out a new idea on my blog that I am awkwardly titling "What Democracy Looks Like." I can't help but feel that democracy in America is a lie and that (as George Carlin put it) we are given the illusion of choice. So, with the idea that visualization is the first step in enacting change, I've started trying to imagine what democracy would actually look like, if we had it.

Since it is now the election season, I have been thinking about what debates would look like in a true democracy.

Currently, the way debates work is that the two major parties argue about the format of the debate. This is (to use a colloquial expression) like putting the fox in charge of the hen house. This is why in many debates over the past dozen years or so (particularly presidential debates) the candidates were not allowed to address one another directly. It also has enabled strong restraints on the number of debates, the topics raised, and the time given for a response. These rules often favor the ignorant who can more easily express a sound bite than a logical, reasoned response.

I wrote a paper on this in junior college where I suggested a reform specifically for presidential debates. These debates used to be conducted by the League of Women Voters, but was taken from their control by the two major parties in the eighties.

It is vitally important to the health of the country that we have a non-biased third party set the standard for debates. In my essay, I proposed five debates to address different concerns. In particular, there were two debates specific to addressing the needs of the elderly and the youth vote. The rules would be standardized to allow lengthy responses and direct address.

However, as I have become more interested in house and senate seats, I have realized that we need reform to publicize and standardize these debates as well.

Is there any debate for candidates for congress? If so, where can I see it? Every election season there should be notices everywhere to come and witness the candidates in order to make an informed choice about local politics. It should be held in a large public place like a county fairgrounds and every flyer should also have a website and the names of any channel carrying the debate.

Hell, how about just a weekly debate forum for every issue that comes out? Instead of attending biased news programs to get out your sound bites, how about a formal debate forum to discuss the issues of the week in a neutral environment?

Is that so crazy? Or is it just the bare minimum that we should demand in the "greatest country in the world?"

Perhaps the most blindingly obvious sign that we do not have a true democracy is the fact that Election Day is not a national holiday. This would seem like the best way to encourage most voters. Many other nations have this policy. I can only conclude that actually getting people to vote is not a priority.

Anyway, here is a couple clips from The West Wing to show what a debate should look like: