An informed citizenry

[James Marple <jesl@carolina.net>]

What can we do to return ownership of democracy to the general public?  I propose two additional choices:

Choice 4: Elect honest politicians . . .  
Concerned citizens who seek to reduce the power of money over politicians in a democracy can strongly influence local elections and through these work toward getting honest politicians in the pipeline to provide a cleaner pool of candidates for major elections.  

Choice 5:  Educate/assist politicians . . .
Every concerned citizen who volunteers to provide information to elected officials provides these persons with greater resistance to the deception and pressure of campaign donors, lobbyists and corrupted staff.
    
While these actions do not deal directly with campaign funding they have a powerful impact in that they deal with the human failings and lack of knowledge that allow profiteers to manipulate government.

  Educating the public by presenting all planning options guides voters toward candidates with practical, sensible programs and away from those with empty promises. 

  A well-informed public will pressure persons of integrity into running for office, keep these persons abreast of current planning and design techniques that enhance all facets of community life, and watch closely to minimize opportunities for corruption. The amount of campaign funding available ceases to be a major concern when all candidates have sufficient personal integrity to resist bribery and voters have sufficient information to armor them against saturation advertising.