Mr. Krebs Goes to Washington
We recently received a note from our friend, Valdis Krebs, telling us about a killer conference he’s attending in Washington, DC, this coming week. He’s in the Over the Horizon session.
I got so excited at the possibilities of what he’s going to participate in that I wrote him a note, and I liked the note so well that I’m going to share it with all of you. I must say that I’m having an extremely lucid day.
Valdis:
I think that it might be wise to look at how political parties gained power in the frst place. It started at a grassroots level with people banding together because of an issue or need in their community. For instance, back in the day, precinct committeepeople were usually the leaders in their small community; they then had access to councilpeople and political party bosses. These precinct committeepeople were courted by the powers-that-were to in effect make them more infleuntial in the power circles. Over the years, the grassroots portion has atrophied as the power structure has been come more and more disassociated from the everyday citizen and voter.
Today, we are at a point where a Minority of the American public choose our political leaders.
We are now at a crossroads where people can become reengaged in the political process through citizen journalism, blogs, Meet The Bloggers and other avenues using the internet. We are at a critical point where the grassroots portion of the political process can again be influential. This possibility could be very disturbing to the hierarchy in place now, on both sides of the aisle. In fact, we have seen a few instances right here in Ohio where that has probably been the case.
This is an exciting time in America when issues can again become the driving force behind politics rather than money and influence. I worry that censorship and control will hinder the explosive nature of this movement. I know that it will not be quashed, but it can be slowed down by a hierarchy threatened by networking and community building.
I am so glad Valdis that you are part of the conversation, and I am honored that you asked us our thoughts on the issue.
Enjoy the interaction and I am wondering, would you share your thoughts, observations, and conclusions in an MTB interview?
Gloria