How about some form of Democracy on the Internet?

The future of Communications is the Internet, no one doubts that. The future of the Media is the Internet, no well informed commentator doubts that fact. Newspapers, T.V, Movies, Radio, Books, Games, Music and just about anything you can imagine to do with entertainment or current affairs will arrive at your door via your broadband access terminal. The future of Education is the Internet of accumulated knowledge, stored and made accessible to the maximine number of aspiring scholars, wherever they chose to sit. Banking, Social security, Medi-care, Real estate transfer, Consumable purchases, Trading posts and E-Bay’s are undoubtedly online necessities as we prepare for 2010 and beyond. Why is it, that whenever the future of Democracy is discussed nobody seems to be convinced the Internet will have any relevance?

I’ll tell you why; because just as News reporting has been revolutionized by the Blogosphere and journalists are crapping themselves as they see their hard fought for public positions evaporating before their very eyes and the Music industry executives are in the same boat, fighting for relevance in a world that doesn’t need them anymore. Politicians can see the backside of their reign slipping down the gurgler of history as they kiss it goodbye. E-Democracy replacing our existing system; is as inevitable as on-line movies replacing Video stores renting you overpriced DVD’s and they will do anything to delay it, ignore it, pretend it isn’t going to happen or worse, conspirer against you to keep your head buried in the sand.

You can argue against what I am saying here or you can say it won’t work. You can anonymously bark down anybody who dares to talk about it on the net or you can partition your local member to have it banned from public discussion but it won’t stop the onward march of the inevitability that responsible people of the future will be active in their online government’s affairs as sure as they will be educating themselves rather than paying ivory tower dweller’s to pontificate on their future. 

Americans have been overzealously proud of their forefathers for having the gumption to form a republic for the environment to play out their version of democracy and England equally proud of their Westminster system but because of the importance of the Internet and the need to rise up and embrace it as proud part of our future governing system, we can either be remembered as the ones that squandered their chance or championed it; don’t be silly enough to delude yourself that it won’t be an issue.