Down With The Man | Part 3

Why the best way of taking The Man down may be by playing his own game. Welcome to the Down With The Man issue: Part 3.

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

Sure, sticking it to The Man is oh-so-indulgent. But doing it on his own turf, playing by his own rules, somehow feels even more gratifying. Which is exactly why Govit, a brand new social network for the politically-minded, is out to take grassroots to its roots.

The non-partisan project aims to make US Democracy a truly citizen-centric process where everyday people become empowered citizens through learning about legislation and discussing government issues with others. Govit members get to vote on legislation just like elected officials do, offering a raw assessment of how well the government represents its citizens.

Think of it as one big web-based Model UN forum… if Model UN political debates were relayed back to the real UN.

Because here’s the kicker: when Govit members vote on legislation, they have the option of having their votes sent straight to government representatives at the click of a button.

That’s where you pause and have an oh-what-an-age-we-live-in moment. (We certainly did.)

And while we may have doubts about how much weight any of the relayed information will have with the real government, we dig the idea of fostering true interaction outside the context of staged campaign appearances. But, more than anything, we truly believe in the power of informed choice — it may be a worn adage, but knowledge really is power, and we live in a world in desperate need of more informed citizens, more informed consumers, more informed human minds.

Related posts:

• The Other Electorate What the presidential election has to do with aliens and coffee cups. The presidential election is almost upon us, and next leader of the free world is only a few million ballots away. And as important as voting is in shaping the future of the nation, its impact goes far...
• Data Visualization: The Colors of Democracy Bulgarian Parliament elections, or what dots and colors have to do with the war on political corruption....
• The Story of Stuff How much a $4.99 radio actually costs and what 7 football fields are doing in the Amazon jungle – the real story of sustainability....
• Best of Election Season Innovation Private confessions, citizen voyeurism, a shot at redemption, why it pays to have famous friends, and how graphic design changed politics forever....
• Social Media, News & The Democratic Process The news on news, or what Twitter has to do with democracy....

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 27th, 2008 at 8:52 pm in activism, culture, politics, social web and was tagged grassroots, politics.