Disenfranchised Citizens

In the last Federal Election (May 2011) 61% of the registered voters actually voted, that leaves 39% of registered voters did not. Prior to 1997 federal election the average voter turn-out was in the 70% or higher. In 1997 election the turn-out had dropped to 67% and it has fallen every election since to 61% in 2011. This pattern shows a stead decline in voter turn-out and the Citizens becoming disenfranchised from their own GOVERNMENT.These percentages do not incorporate the eligible voters that may not have registered, there are more disenfranchised citizens then just the 39% registered voters that did not vote.

We need to explore ways to make our Government more responsive to the Citizens that it Governs.

Today one would have more access to the Government if one was a member of the Political Party that has the majority of the House Seats, then a non-affiliated Citizen. We are Governed by Political Parties and not by the elected representatives and it is in the best interests of the Political Party that is the priority, not the Country or the Citizens. When an elected representative speaks on behalf of the Citizens that elected the person and it is against the policy of the Party, the representative is often kicked-out of the Party and sits as a independent.  It is the Political Party that controls the elected representatives, not the Citizens that they are elected to represent.

It is this type of control that the Political Parties have over our elected representatives that frustrates and demoralizes the Citizens in their Government. Even with the Citizens that do vote, it is often a vote against a Party then a vote in support of a Party. The Political Parties themselves have sacrificed much of their philosophy with the sole objective of winning a majority of seats in the House.   

It can be argued that our Government is not a representation of the People, that it is a dictatorship of differing philosophies. Even these differing philosophies have become blurred in the all out effort to WIN A MAJORITY. The Parties will say and do anything that will help them win!

It has become a POWER GAME and one of WINNING AT ALL COSTS! The issue of actually GOVERNING the country in the interests of the CITIZENS has been lost in this obsession of WINNING.

In order to change this process we need to defuse the POWER STRUCTURE. We need to de-centerlize the POWER STRUCTURE so that the POWER  is not so easily controlled. We also need to bring our Government process into the 21st Century.