Now that we have covered both the structure and functions that comprise the People’s Parliament, let’s discuss how we can lay a strong foundation upon which to situate the political chamber.
As stated previously, community will be the key to unlocking the power of parliament. We are going to be required to unite around our shared values with regard to both freedom and democracy. We have to learn and accept that the aspects of our existences that govern our personal lives truly have little bearing on each other so long as we agree to make sure that the decisions in our personal lives do not either inhibit the freedoms of others or present a real and present threat to others. If that is the case, then we can definitely interact within a community, engaging in activities that unite us through the celebration of our shared values. Outside of that, we should leave each other to enjoy the dictates of our personal lives, based on the freedoms that we jointly protect.
I hope that we will take careful time to consider this foundational concept. Properly orienting ourselves around this ideal will both allow us to build the world that we desire and set ourselves apart from those who lack the maturity to live peacefully with others. Freedom and democracy are more than philosophical abstractions. These ideals are fundamental components that are to be used to build a free society. The pursuit of such a society requires continual learning, growth, and practice. This is not simply a declaration. It is a lifestyle.
With these ideas in mind, let us move forward toward building a community that will fortify us for the challenge of constructing a society of lasting peace and prosperity. For reference, let us review the shared values that we discussed in our call to action, as seen in the article “What We Have Forgotten”.
We value both freedom and a democracy that provides us with a rising quality of life that is commensurate with the productivity advancements of our society. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Career advancement/resource accumulation;
- Ability to start a family;
- Provision of increasing opportunity for our children and future generations commensurate to societal productivity advancements and our individual efforts to secure wealth through contributing to said advancements;
- Safety from physical, psychological, social, and economic threats;
- Security of access to an equitable share in both societal advancements and societal wealth generation;
- The ability and right to protect ourselves, our families and our interests, including our individual, communal and societal interests;
- The right to enjoy all desired, democratic benefits, where not inhibiting the freedoms of others or posing a real and present threat to others.
Power in Community
One big issue that we have as Americans is that we do not have the appropriate language to effectively communicate with each other about sensitive subjects. We have an expansive language, the English language, and yet we fail to master it well enough to both engage in meaningful, insightful debate in order to come to terms on societal issues. Additionally, we lack the patience to both listen to and understand others before berating them with judgement, discounting their outlook and assaulting them with harsh criticism. This often happens without considering the opposing argument.
We should consider that the core of the issue is a desire to not be proven wrong. In a highly competitive culture, being wrong may carry a slew of negative side effects: dismissal, marginalization, persecution, etc. No person wishes to be either shunned or outcast. Further, we should be honest that the concerns about receiving said punishment are not without merit. We live in a judgemental and unforgiving society. But does it have to be that way?
Why does this phenomenon afflict us? There are many reasons, but we should consider that the likely core of this issue comes down to one word: community. It is often true that we are more patient and understanding with those in our own community because we value maintaining those relationships. We are willing to occasionally accept a lack of acuity from a communal relation, when we are sure that the mistake was both honest and will be used for growth. We are creatures who have survived long enough to populate almost the entire globe due to the benefits of our communal nature. I will not delve into the many reasons that have influenced us to become so hyper-individualistic. I believe that taking the proper approach to building community will allow us to shed those troubling habits as a matter of course.
By effectively building community, we achieve additional benefits that will help us to build a successful nation that serves the needs of the people. Let’s consider a pathway for building and maintaining community:
- We discover our shared values.
- We build community around dedicating ourselves to those shared values.
- Through continued interaction within our community that is based on the shared values, we will develop a shared culture that sustains the community, underpinned by shared values.
- Once we have a shared culture, we will develop both language and an approach to both discussion and debate that can be meaningful, leading to resolutions that deliver both tangible and positive results for the people in our community.
If we can both determine our shared values and dedicate ourselves to them, then we can build both community and culture. If we can build a culture, then we can develop acceptable language that we can use to effectively debate issues of concern. In order for parliament to work, we must commit to building a true community amongst ourselves, based on our shared values.
Staying United
We should spend time getting to know one another. After all, we are neighbors. This does not mean that we have to adopt or accept everything about each other. Again, our common thread is our shared values. However, by getting to know each other better, we can understand why we all are invested in our shared values. Where there is shared investment, there can be shared trust. If we are to live up to the ideals in this nation’s founding documents, then we must learn to live together in peace and harmony. In this way, we can begin to create a strong American culture that is devoid of empty consumption and full of meaningful interaction amongst its citizenry, strengthening our nation.
Another purpose of the People’s Parliament is to create unity. As such, all groups that decry diversity and unity may attempt to provide resistance to the very ideals upheld by the People’s Parliament. It is important that we maintain solidarity and community within our parliament. This will allow us to stand strong when outside forces seek to divide us. These attacks could come from anywhere: friends, family, romantic partners, work colleagues, etc. Creating community may not be easy, but it is a fundamental part of making the People’s Parliament work. We may come from diverse backgrounds, cultures and ways of thinking. However, creating a community that is solidified by our shared values will give us an anchor that can keep us stable during the storm of opposition that will eventually come. Remember, there are private interests that will see the People’s Parliament as a threat. We have allowed ourselves to be distracted for so long that others have become accustomed to usurping our power for themselves. Once we stand up to take our power back, there will likely be extreme backlash. We must stand up for one another, in these times.
Decorum for Building Community
Building community is a great idea. And we’ve covered how it can help build a strong foundation upon which to rebuild our democracy. However, it would be wise for us to recognize that our country features hyper-individualism. In this current age, many people do not like to talk on the phone, relying on text messaging and apps in order to communicate. Loneliness is on the rise. As a society, we have lost the ability to deal with each other with civility. The ability to reconcile both those issues and our own personal misgivings about these disagreements will be paramount to beginning the work of building community.
Rather than prescribing specific solutions here, we should consider the appropriate posture when approaching debate, reconciliation, and resolution. The required decorum is the same that we will require to build the trust in each other that will be necessary to aptly construct our communities. We should delve into this process with both openness and a willingness to hear others’ perspectives. We should meditate on ideas that challenge our own. We should take time to consider grievances expressed to us, reflect upon them, and be slow to react. We should contemplate whether we have either been wronged or misread a situation. We should practice careful consideration of information shared with us as a key to unlocking connection through shared values. This does not mean that we automatically receive a grievance as an irrefutable statement of truth. This also does not mean that we accept an insincere apology. We can, however, consider the entire context, attempt to understand the experiences of our fellow citizens, engage in reconciliatory conversations in good faith, and work to resolve disagreements in a way that respects all involved.
With respect to resolving both debates and disagreements, we should take the time to discuss the proper decorum for these exchanges. It boils down to our agreement to make our arguments to one another in good faith.
Arguing in Good Faith
As discussed previously, many contemporary debates feature disingenuous and intellectually dishonest behavior. We can see this expressed when people create straw man arguments and only reply to their opposing debater in these terms versus the actual arguments being presented. Other concerning approaches are described by “moving the goalpost”. This method entails arbitrarily changing the criteria of the argument in the moment, in order to either derail an opposing view that is going to meet the previously agreed upon standards or to deflect from having to concede a point within the debate. Additionally, an egregious approach that we have highlighted in recent times is the practice of the “gish gallop”. The gish gallop is a rhetorical technique where someone overwhelms an opponent in a debate by presenting a large number of often weak, inaccurate, or misleading arguments in rapid succession, making it difficult or impossible for the opponent to address them effectively.
Arguing in good faith can be distilled into two words: be honest. Without sincerity, we cannot truly support each other. Without candidness, we cannot engender trust. Without trust, we cannot build community and culture.
Parliamentary procedure will require us to negotiate with each other in order to build the world we desire. The following are guidelines that we should consider when engaging in debate or discussion.
- Be honest, even when we believe honesty may be unpopular.
- Agree on what is to be achieved with the debate/discussion.
- Define the terms of the debate/discussion.
- Accept and acknowledge verifiable facts.
- Do not reject another person’s report of their experience or opinion.
- Be open to considering another interpretation of events.
- Listen, without interrupting.
- Do not filibuster.
- Hear what others have to say with the intent of understanding the information being presented, not with anxiousness to respond.
- Do not engage in straw man arguments. Speak directly to the topic at hand.
- Do not use ad hominem attacks.
- Do not use gish gallop techniques.
There are many strategies that can be used to mitigate conflict resolution. These approaches may take on a unique expression, based on the culture we have built in our parliaments. It is up to each chamber of parliament to determine which methods work best for its specific community.
This is the Glue
Building community is the cornerstone of parliament. Uniting around shared values gives us the ability to adequately determine and express the needs of our community. Further, it serves as a magnifying tool that can project our collective voice at the government. Individually, our voices can be marginalized. Collectively, we cannot be ignored.
As I have stated before, everything that we have covered with regard to the technical structure of parliament is not unique. The parliamentary charter necessarily borrows from the spirit that democratic structures are supposed to both embody and execute upon. Unfortunately, the traditional structures are failing us. Therefore, we must restart the entire system from scratch; from the ground up. The true purpose of a representative is as we have covered: to carry the voice of the people of their community to a larger political, governing body that represents society at large. We will use parliament to focus our collective demand on the government.
In Closing
This concludes the series on the structure, makeup and functions of the People’s Parliament. I provide these ideas as both a framework for organization that can aid the citizens of the United States in our shared quest for effective democracy and a reflection of the ideals espoused in both the Constitution of the United States and the United States Declaration of Independence. The People’s Parliament is the right and honorable next step of the U.S. population to secure our just and rightful claim to freedom from tyranny.