How do we make a better government?

Actually replacing the US government is a monumental, seemingly impossible task and the plan for how to do it will need to adapt as this movement grows and more minds contribute. This flexibility applies especially to the second step of this process. The only perpetual principal is nonviolence.

At the present moment, our continental, democratic experiment has two steps.

The first step is educational in nature, it lasts a single day, and it gets the American People up to speed on various debates and aspects of next-generation governance. The second step is designed to divide into various groups according to what they know or care about the most. The main goal of this second step is to create a series of plans which will guide the development of our government and the deployment of public infrastructure. These plans, one, three, five and twenty-five years long. This dissemination of citizens into department specific livestreams would bring enormous amounts of intelligence to bear on impossibly difficult problems. We would not only be harnessing a few of our nation’s leading authorities, we would be harnessing the far greater collective mental power of a modern superpower.

 This two-step proposal should not only design a great government, it should also ensure public support and acceptance of that government. Giving citizens the opportunity to influence and help organize their own government is an immensely attractive idea if executed correctly, especially when contrasted with the near-zero influence the average American wields in our present system. The bar is on the damn floor.

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew."
Abraham Lincoln

The first step in this two-step Convention would be conducted on a single Monday from 9:00 to 6:30 CST. This day is intended to educate our citizenry on the debates, systems, and discussions that are key components of an optimal government. The goal is to have some of the best professionals in the nation walking the rest of us through their field of expertise, passing the baton of national attention along, outlining the potential structure of our ideal state piece by theoretical piece, explaining exactly why our government should be structured in a certain way.

You can find the working template for the first step here. Any and all feedback welcome.

The American People, and indeed, all humans on Earth, would be encouraged to provide immediate, nuanced responses; creating a massive amount of data regarding the public’s opinions. This data which would be analyzed over the coming days, weeks, and months to perfect the policies of our new institutions.

The second step follows this first day and lasts for the following four days. In this second step, a trio of experts and a committed subset of our People, each group discussing one of the Ministries outlined in the manifesto, works together to create a series of long term, continent wide plans. Unlike the first step, which is designed to bring the entire nation together to sync realities and understandings, to getting us all on the same page, this second step is designed to divide the American People according to what we know or care the most about. The lawyers will flow into the Ministry of Governance, the bankers and economists will siphon off into the Ministry of Money, the farmers and nutritionists will migrate into the livestream held by the Ministry of Food, and so on. If a farmer somehow has extensive experience in judicial theory, they have the option to flow into their preferred livestream. The point is to gather the judgment of all interested Americans onto a single simple question: How do we meet our needs?

"In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."
Dwight D. Eisenhower

There are multiple goals for the second day. The first goal is to establish 1, 3, 10, & 25 year plans for each Ministry. These plans are intended to establish a framework for each Ministry, outlining how they shall be developed and operated. These plans would be created and continually refined by combining the wisdom and knowledge of the selected experts/delegates and harnessing the aggregate wisdom and will of people in each specific field. In theory, our foremost professionals and the American People would react to each other, with the professionals educating the public and drawing up the actual blueprint for their Ministry, and the public informing the delegates of their collective will and preferences. It must be stressed that this second step would not result in the creation of these Ministries, as that will take years, if not decades, to be realized. It would, however, result in their birth.

The second goal of the second step is to elect individual ministers for each Ministry. This shall occur at the end of the second step, once Ministerial Plans have been established, and the candidates shall be the aforementioned experts that anchored the design of their institution. For the sake of logistics and simplicity, the voters for this first vote shall be the three candidates themselves. In other words, the three delegates that oversee the plans for the Ministry of Information shall be the ones who elect, from amongst themselves, their Ministry of Information’s first minister.

The third goal of this step is to establish a quick and dirty democratic legitimacy for our government. Once the ministers are elected and the plans for each Ministry are outlined a digital vote will be held, a poll to determine whether or not to adopt this new government. If this second vote passes by simple majority, plans for an official national referendum shall be put into motion, ensuring that the will of the People is properly felt. In short, the three votes of the second step are for the first ministers, whether to hold a referendum, and the organization of the referendum itself.

The veto power the American People have over this Constitutional conversion cannot be overstated; it is paramount to the appeal and success of this enterprise. The referendum serves as a democratic safeguard, and given its importance, the logistics of actually organizing that referendum should be left to individuals who are extremely capable, experienced, and trustworthy. The four ex-Presidents, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the party leaders of the House and Senate would make a stellar team for this job, bringing bipartisan comradery, undeniable legitimacy, and decades of experience at all levels and across all branches of our political system. Bringing in the leaders of the existing government and making them responsible for this monumental transition should help ensure a peaceful transition of power.

“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”
George Patton

As stated, this section is the most flexible portion of this proposition because it is tailored to fit a seemingly impossible question. “How” can always change.