Lottery Representational System (LRS)

I started writing on this one – the LRS in the late 1990’s. I will re-write all of it at some point or another.

There we are! Right here!

A basic tenet for a position of public trust is that such a position be coveted by none and honored by all

Robert Lemire – 2020

Coveted by none and honored by all…That is the LRS in a nutshell. Unfortunately the exact opposite scenario exists within current society and its political mechanisms. So how do we change it? How do we change an existing structure which seems so very embedded within the very framework of democracy that change of such magnitude would seemingly spell a complete dismantling of said framework?

I’ll tell you how.

#1. Have an open mind.

#2. Now, seriously…have an open mind.

#3. Admit the system is broken. That part’s easy, right?

#4. Realize what you already know; anything broken can be fixed. And in fact, can be made better now that a break has been found and thus identified as something to improve upon so as to not repeat the break. It is important to note that improvement is an ongoing process.

April 23, 2022

I’ll be adding to this and editing as I go. The bulk of my writings on this matter are in an off-board file and will be added here upon various levels of completion. For now, just the bare bones, the basics.

  1. All current existing positions in government will remain the same. This goes for local, state, and federal.
  2. All positions in government will be served for one four year term.
  3. There will be no more elections. Government positions will be filled through a lottery process. The lottery process will be based on drawing individuals through the use of social security numbers.
  4. Only those citizens who are between the ages of 30 and 40 years old will be chosen to serve. Once a person is chosen and serves their term their name and number is forever removed from future lotteries. In effect, nobody serves more than one term.
  5. Though the term is four years each person chosen shall serve for six years. The first two years of the term will be served in a training mode. The training will consist of the specific education required to best represent their constituents among the whole in a manner best fitting a democratic government as outlined in the Constitution. There are many details I will add to this at a later time.
  6. The LRS will serve legislative and executive positions at all levels. Judicial positions at all levels will operate in the same manner and positions will be filled via the same process except in that only members of the bar of any given state will be chosen for local, state, and federal positions. Obviously one must have an understanding of the law to best serve as an arbiter of it. Though even for judicial positions the two year education period will be in effect.
  7. There are many obvious details of which are not currently listed. Such as what if someone is chosen through the lottery whose cognitive abilities are severely impaired? Or what if they are a convicted felon? Or what if their neighbors think him or her a dunce or a ninny? Or a sociopath or worse, having personality traits consisting of all those things and in effect being on a par with today’s elected multiple term serving politicians? The answer to that question is many fold and will be addressed later. In short however, I believe in humanity and I believe when equitable situations are in play people behave equitably and in fact will even go out of their way to do so and will rise to the occasion.
  8. The number one premise of the LRS is, in fact, that people rise to the occasion. People want to do well by others. It is in our nature to be thus.
  9. What does the LRS replace and why would it be an improvement over that which we have in place now? The LRS would not just simply replace one system with another. It would be like putting out a fire and at the same time creating a framework which cannot burn. I’ll come up with some fun and more clear metaphors later.
  10. To continue on in the manner in which we now govern ourselves – rather, allow ourselves to be governed – would be a folly of incredible magnitude. It would promise only one thing. Revolution. Continued revolution. Why not try, evolution? That’s what the LRS is all about. Evolution. In fact, many of the details of the system will include mandatory checks – inventories, if you will – of current operating levels. And modes of improvement will be required. Improvement of systems will in fact be a bedrock premise of the system.
  11. Ok…how does it all get put together and dialed in and actually implemented? Through you and your efforts in force with those around you. Through us. All of us working together. Tall order, yes. But so was getting past monarchies and state sponsored deplorable acts such as slavery and wars and going to the moon and not wiping ourselves out as of yet. We can do the tough work. The LRS wouldn’t be that tough to implement in comparison to other incredible things we as humans have done.
  12. We need a group of people. People committed to the idea that human beings are one family and that together we best find our own purposes and directions in life. There is a more articulate way for me to appeal to others for assistance and I will endeavor to put it forth as time permits. In the meantime, EarthRaft – this platform which is now simply a domain name with a website – will be a place to make all this happen.
  13. Funding. Yep. I need it. And lots of it. I need to bring great minds together to hammer out ideas and implement them. That costs dollars. I guess I get to figure that out now. I need $100M. One unit, as the super wealthy say. That way I can get some fabulous thinkers to a conference and get this baby off the ground. Okay…
  14. And one more thing…EarthRaft is for you and me. 100% you and me. In fact, there is nothing more that I would want than to simply use EarthRaft to bring people together who are far better suited to developing and implementing ideas than I.

Status Quo of Electoral Processes

  1. Candidates must raise money to compete. The amount of funding required increases dramatically over time. The sources of funding are nebulous and most, if not all, want something specific in return for their investment. This scenario has created a marketplace of our elections.
  2. The marketplace is owned primarily by powerful and wealthy private interests who operate through proxies known as lobbyists.
  3. More to come…but let’s hold for a moment and offer up an example of how EarthRaft may evolve…how I’d like to see it begin its evolution at least. Okay, the thoughts I’m putting forth in this section on status quo of electoral processes are readily apparent to all. I’m giving them some visibility here. That’s all. With the help of others these thoughts and their corollaries – as offered by collaborators – can be presented in a manner which makes them much more readable, discernable, cognitively digestible, etc. far better than I can do on my own. More to come….