How Americans Can Organize to Govern and Solve Their Common Problems
Explore the VisionAmerica is in serious need of genuine democracy. The Neighborhoods Network (tNN) provides the organizational structure for citizens to establish the "public will" — the set of legislative and executive policies that should govern our lives.
This book describes how ordinary Americans can organize their neighborhoods, discuss critical issues, conduct thorough investigations, build consensus, and deliver policy mandates to elected representatives. It's not theory — it's a practical handbook for democratic action.
The neighborhood is the primary unit of organization. All structures of tNN are built into this foundational unit where real people meet face-to-face.
Participation is entirely voluntary. The only requirements are mutual respect and not hindering the work of the neighborhood unit.
There are no "central committees" or top-down structures. Neighborhoods are equal and relate to one another as equals.
Small random samples of neighborhoods can effectively build consensus and test policy acceptance across the entire population.
Citizens form work groups to investigate issues in depth, find solutions, and monitor government implementation of policies.
The overall strategy is to build public consensus through polling, discussion, investigation, and identification of acceptable solutions.
Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties: Those who fear and distrust the people, and those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe depository of the public interests.
This book provides detailed instructions for organizing neighborhoods into effective democratic units. You'll learn how to conduct general meetings, form work groups, use statistical sampling to build consensus, network with other neighborhoods, and deliver policy mandates to elected officials.
The book addresses practical challenges: How can thousands of neighborhoods communicate effectively? How can ordinary citizens investigate complex policy issues? How do we protect this network from subversion? How do we grow from a single neighborhood to a national movement?
Most importantly, it shows how we can transform ourselves from politically isolated individuals into full-fledged citizens with real power to determine our national future.
We have no regular way to discuss public issues with fellow citizens. Politics is considered impolite, yet it's essential for self-governance.
We don't know what other citizens really think. The media tells us one thing, but we need to discover our actual shared concerns.
We lack mechanisms to investigate issues in depth, collaborate with others, and transform concerns into workable solutions.
Even with good solutions, we have no way to present them to large groups of citizens for approval or modification.
We have no mechanism to deliver policy mandates to legitimate representatives for implementation.
We lack sufficient means to monitor what representatives actually do and ensure compliance with the public will.