I’ve had this kind of conversation with more than a few Donald Trump detractors on Medium:
Medium Contributor: I hate Donald Trump. He is the worst president ever. He is inept and corrupt.
Dave: I have invented an alternative system of democratic governance where people liked Donald Trump would not be elected.
Medium Contributor: __________________
I have left the contributor’s response blank. I’ll give you some space to think about what the contributors said. Please scroll down to get the answer:
Keep scrolling.
Keep thinking.
Keep scrolling and thinking just a bit more.
Well, if you thought most responses went like this:
I really need to investigate your idea, Dave. Where can I learn more?
You
would
be
dead
wrong.
I must have had 50 Medium conversations like this in 2019 and 2020. No one answered in this way.
So here’s the paradox I am seeing. I think it’s safe to say that many Medium political contributors know there is something wrong with today’s democracies. Many of these contributors yearn for something better than what we have today.
And yet, when someone offers them an alternative democracy that could solve much of their political anxiety, they quickly cast that alternative aside.
Go figure!
A Long List of TDG Objections
After interacting with at least 4000 Medium contributors in the past four years, I have complied a list of reasons as to why my Tiered Democratic Governance (TDG) is not gaining much traction on Medium.
1. The Deep State fears Dave’s alternative democracy. So it has successfully inculcated itself into the Medium algorithm to ensure Dave’s articles do not show up too much on the feeds, lest the plebes and their malleable minds get any ideas.
2. Not only that, a few tepid fans of the TDG have mysteriously disappeared from Medium.
3. Dave’s articles are too long, and I can’t afford the time to read them.
4. Then he wants us to read his books. Sheesh!
5. Dave is trying to make a quick buck with book sales.
6. I can’t afford to give Dave’s work anything more than a passing glance. I have my own agenda to get rich and famous with my writing. I can’t put the spotlight on someone else.
7. Dave is not a celebrity.
8. Dave is not earning a six-figure salary.
9. Dave’s works have been ignored by academics and other recognized thinkers.
10. Dave is a bottom writer — after four years on Medium.
11. Dave has been working on his TDG since 1997 — and has nothing to show for it.
12. Dave is obviously a loser.
13. Mr. Trump has been great fodder for writing my Medium articles. I don’t want to look for a new political niche.
14. The world is heading to a fascist state — and there’s nothing that can be done. No alternative democracy is necessary.
15. There is a person out there who has both good intentions and political skills. We just need to find him/her and vote that person in. Then all will be well. No alternative democracy is necessary.
16. Reforms for the Electoral College/Term Limits/Campaign Financing/Gerrymandering/etc. are all that are necessary to make a better democratic system. Then all will be well. These reforms already have some degree of popular support. No alternative democracy is necessary.
17. We just need to convince a few more people to vote the right way. Then all will be well. No alternative democracy is necessary.
18. We can bend the will of those overly ambitious people who aspire for public office. Then all will be well. No alternative democracy is necessary.
19. Democracy has always fixed itself. No alternative democracy is necessary.
20. Hoping and wishing is all that is needed by we plebes. Then all will be well. No alternative democracy is necessary.
21. Political time must be given to the immediate political threat of the USA devolving to a Republican oligarchy. Spending any time on a future alternative democracy plays into the success of the future oligarchy.
22. Dave’s alternative democracy will too eventually be corrupted.
23. Today’s political elite will never accept the TDG.
24. We plebes are too powerless to effect this big of change.
25. The TDG could fail.
26. The TDG is too much work, time, and effort.
27. It is so much easier to criticize Trump, the Republicans, and the MAGA base.
28. Dave asks me to work with a few of my neighbors. I don’t know my neighbors.
29. Humanity does not have the skills to make the TDG work.
30. Dave’s social circle thinks he is insane. If the year was 1960 instead of 2023, they could put Dave in an insane asylum for continuing with his alternative democracy. I can’t let my social circle get similar thoughts.
Your Choice
I have listed 30 reasons for you not to investigate the TDG. Most of you should be able to identify with at least five of them. In essence, this list exonerates you from the responsibility of investigating the TDG.
But if you continue to use these excuses, then the result is the political status quo.
But what is that political status quo?
For the USA, the status quo is uncertain. I see two paths.
The first path is the USA bumbles along with its current democracy. While Americans are dancing the tango at the edge of a cliff, it will take at least a decade for the MAGA movement to become a less significant political/social force; demographic trends are not on their side. After this change, then Americans will get more sensible politics, like from the 1960s to 1990s: you know, the good old days! In the meantime, real problems do not get fixed.
The second is an escalation of civil unrest. The MAGA movement has a lot of firearms. The political left in the USA will not cower. Violent protests will affect the national economy and national psyche. This unrest could lead to an oligarchy, anarchy, civil war, and/or breakup of the USA. There’s a danger to assume a bumbling democracy will continue to bumble for another decade just because it has bumbled before. The signs for an upheaval are already here.
And regardless of whether the USA takes the first or the second path, the wealthy and their corporations should do well.
So, are you readers content with this future of either of these two American paths?
If not, I suggest a thorough investigation of Tiered Democratic Governance.
My First Claim
Earlier in my article, I made a claim that someone like Mr. Trump would not rise to high office in the TDG. Let me explain why.
Let’s build this hypothetical TDG and let Mr. Trump interact with it. He would first need to earn votes from his neighbors to find his way into the bottom tier of the TDG. Despite the TDG teaching its voters to vote for “good character” and “capacity for governance,” let’s just assume that enough neighbors in Trump Tower or Mar-A-Lago give him their votes. Mr. Trump is now in the first tier of the TDG.
At this tier, Mr. Trump won’t be meeting world leaders, central bankers, or army generals. Rather he will be on a committee deciding whether to repaint the crosswalk on 5th Avenue or leave that street repair for another year. Methinks he would not be happy on this committee.
The TDG is about the consultative approach to decision making. If Mr. Trump uses the same approach for his TDG street repair committee that he used in his business and presidency, it is very unlikely he will earn votes from other neighborhood representatives to move into a higher TDG tier. His political career will be stalled at the lowest tier.
If you still believe that Mr. Trump can get himself elected higher in the TDG, then you really should read my book. You can explain to me how I overlooked his path to high office in the TDG.
My Second Claim
I also claim that the TDG will be the wiser, kinder democracy that many of us so yearn for. While that is more difficult to prove, its success will depend a lot on the character and capacity of the early TDG builders. They will be the ones to put these virtues of wisdom and kindness into the upstart TDG culture.
If you are wise and kind, you will be a great TDG builder. You can put your wisdom and kindness into this culture — for future citizens. Is that not a good use of your attributes?
Those citizens who are not wise or not kind will not want be part of the early TDG because there is no immediate reward for building the TDG. So the early builders (kind and wise) will be working with people of similar virtues (kind and wise). It will be easier for these people to get along and build this new democracy.
When the TDG becomes more influential, its culture of wisdom and kindness will easily recognize those members who have these same virtues — and move votes to people with those virtues. Many people will see that culture as a great example to align their lives with similar virtues. In other words, this new system of governance will change many average citizens toward a better — and kinder and wiser — psyche.
In case you don’t believe you are kind and wise enough to build the TDG, let me just say this:
“If you have come this far into this article, you are kinder and wiser than at least 75% of the people who have ever entered politics. You are more suitable to be society’s decision makers than they have been. The people you train will be more suitable.”
I have faith in you. You only need to believe in yourself.
Your grandchildren and great grandchildren will be amazed at your contribution.
It is time to stop using those 30 excuses.
Published on Medium 2023
Replacing Western Democracy is an Unpopular Opinion
