"Who speaks for minority groups?"

A good question, and while we are on the subject: "who speaks for the majority group"?

The fact is, our "representative democracy" is pretty much a FARCE.

Our political and community representatives (elected and unelected) insist that it's not, of course, because THEY have a huge vested interest in maintaining the ILLUSION of what a "great democracy" we share; which, naturally enough, they defend - some with the vicious and ruthless determination of a dog defending its bone.

I'm not suggesting that our whole democracy is a farce. The rule of law and freedoms we enjoy in the West are priceless. But our "representative democracy" is really little more than a joke - only I don't feel like laughing about it.

What percentage of the electorate voted for our present government? Was it 22%? And what choice do we actually have on election day? Two or three party candidates, not one of whom is likely to come even close to sharing our own particular political views and attitudes. And even the one we do vote for may not get elected, but someone whose political views and attitudes we are utterly opposed to.

But the candidate who is elected to Parliament will represent me, I'm assured. Sure he will, against his own interests, conscience or party whip - I don't think!

We need radical electoral and Parliamentary reform - but we are not going to get it given to us by Parliament, because it is not in our parliamentary representatives' OWN interests. As I heard Peter Hain tell a meeting of MakeVotesCount on the subject of proportional representation: "You cannot expect turkeys to vote for Christmas". Very true. But don't expect me to be content voting for a turkey!

Parliamentarians, like the miners and everyone else, have got their OWN interests at heart. But unlike the miners, they are in a very powerful position to defend theirs; and many of them, being lawyers and eloquent speakers, know how to rationalize and justify it: it's all in the nation's , the people's, OUR, interests! Like HELL, it is!!

But what can we, THE PEOPLE, do about it, when they, the politicians, have all the POWER.

I'll tell you what we can do about it: using the potential of the Internet, we can SELF-ORGANIZE, and create our OWN, genuinely representative Parliament: a PEOPLE'S PARLIAMENT.

It will take a little while (and must be completely peaceful, and polite), but there is no time like the present to make a start.

Who would like to help me set up a website? Although, I'd better point out that I have no money, and no organization or IT skills - just the conviction that we need to create a REAL DEMOCRACY. Not just for democracy's sake, but in order to create a far more just and humane society. And as the only way to come to grips with the "Sustainability Problem" (global warming etc), which our politicians have finally acknowledged exists (30 years too late!), but which they are still a million miles from recognizing the magnitude and root cause of, and thus haven't the remotest prospect of solving (not least because they themselves are a central part of the Problem, just as they are also standing, democrats though they claim to be, in the way of true democracy).

My homepage: http://www.spaceship-earth.org