Democracy 2.0: The Voice of Many

Democracy 2.0

The Voice of Many

What is Democracy? By definition it is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Basically it is government by the people: the rule of the majority.

In a scholarly journal, Goals without Demands it states, "People do not feel unrepresented. They feel that they cannot be represented." How sad is it that we supposedly live in a free country, where our voices can be heard, but no one is listening. I have had the opportunity of participating in several elections. On more than one occasion I have heard others voice their opinions, some saying there is no point in voting. Some saying it doesn't matter what they think, that the representatives will make the decisions how they see fit.

In listened to a TED Talk by Pia Mancini from October 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She suggests that we need to speak up, and talk about democracy. Rather than living by rules that were developed 200 years ago, we need to make changes that fit into our day in age. Pia asks that question, "If the internet is the new printing press, then what is democracy for the internet era?" Due to technological advances in society, we can no longer ignore it. Why are we trying to solve problems today, with tools from the past? Pia indicated that she doesn't have the answers to these questions, but urges everyone to get involved and let their voices be heard.

Pia and a group of friends came together to see if they could create a way to solve todays problems using tools from today. They created the software democracyos.org  to create a bridge that would help inform citizens of issues that were being presented to Congress. They learned that by just knowing this information was not enough to make change. The change needed to come from taking the information learned and by doing something about it. Their goal was to get representatives involved that were willing to listen to the citizens, and let the citizens voice become part of the conversation.

A question on the blog by Sally Hardy said, "If more people felt as though their voice was heard, how many more would speak out?" I think that Pia Mancini is helping by voicing her opinion. If more and more people will continue to voice their opinions, then many others will also. I think that Pia is right. We need to embrace the technology that we have at our finger tips, and let it lead us into a new way of thinking. It will provide the way to hear the voice of many.