I’m a US American.

Our representative democracy is in danger.

Representative democracy is a spiritual good.

The right thing to do is to sing out for representative democracy. To work for it. To care for, to nurture, to stick up for representative democracy.

The role of citizens in a representative democracy is to serve as a check against madness and corruption in the ruling class. If representative democracy is adequately corrupted, the citizens cannot perform their duty, violence fear and chaos rule, and everyone loses.

But how to help?

The normal prayer is God please help us to be happy, to succeed for real from the inside out so that everyone wins. It is unlikely that the US American democracy can withstand four more years of Trump and his enablers. The election is slated for November 2, 2020. It is almost August 2020. The special occasion prayer is God please help us to be happy, to succeed for real from the inside out so that everyone wins, and for right now to remove Trump and his enablers from office and then work with the next administration to rebuild the integrity of our government.

But how? How does God call each of us? Who are we all?

We are soullight. We are sparks in the One Light. We are called to think and act aware, clear, honest, competent, creative, accurate, and joyfully compassionate.

We are called to share in joy.

But everyone is so annoying.

And they step on our toes and surround us with noise and loneliness. We scheme our escapes, some quiet place where we can marry and be happy in the morninglight.

Philosophy, religion, art, science, opinionated chatter: everyone’s trying to adequately answer the eternal questions:

What is going? What is preferable? How to fit into what is going on so as to bring about what is preferable? No, but for real!! How to knowingly succeed for real?

The answer to those questions is already known to all of us:

Everything is Light. The Light is preferable. Organizing our feeling/thinking/acting around the Light shining in and through everything and everyone [the Light’s both the core and the surrounding envelope of each conscious moment] so that our feeling/thinking/acting flows more and more seamlessly off the Light is the way to bring about what is preferable within this realm of can-be-charming illusions.

We all know this, but we don’t follow through. We don’t live in and through and for the Light. Because we’re afraid that if we turn fully towards God, we’ll lose the hot mate, the fancy job title, the successful artistry, the nice house, our kids safe in the yard, coffee shops, cool trips, …

What about the very poor? What are they afraid to lose?

The truth is that if we turn fully towards God, we won’t be the same and so won’t have the same priorities and so may end up choosing to abandon some of the current-us’s dearest treasures and fondest dreams. This terrifies that aspect of our conscious experience that likes to pretend it is in charge and is winning or at least about to win.

Maybe the very poor are afraid to lose the dream that they’re about to turn things around?

But a place to stay, a cup of water on a hot day, a bowl of oatmeal and cup of tea, a pleasant walk, friends family lovers — there’s many glorious illusions that you don’t need to be rich for. And then there’s alcohol and other drugs that help keep some people very poor while giving them a sense of thriving, however momentary and nakedly self-refuting.

How many people have to be how wise in order for the community as a whole to be healthy?

But it depends! Some systems don’t work because they require more wisdom than they engender.

That’s the beauty of representative democracy. Not even the rulers have to be spiritually enlightened!

Which is great, because most power-seekers are not super interested in spiritual attainment. And check out these autocrats: if someone needs you to admit that they are wise and good, you know they aren’t very wise or very good.

Power corrupts. Wealth corrupts. Special privileges corrupt. In healthy representative democracies, power is limited; there are safeguards to prevent officeholders from profiting from political power; and no one is above the law, which is a public good, shared by all, and there to protect us all so we can openly share ideas and freely choose those ideas that careful consideration and study lead us to believe are best.

The purpose of human life is known by all of us: To live in and through and for the Light, selflessly sharing joy with everyone, exploring and creating within the carefree love that knows we are all in this together forever.

With representative democracy, we agree to protect those goods sacred to any coherent ethos: aware, clear, honest, accurate, competent, respectful, kind, compassionate, creative, joyfully sharing & together. Sacrifice those goods and human beings cannot possibly believe in, follow, or care about their own thoughts and actions. Sacrifice those goods and we sacrifice that aspect of ourselves that can inhabit coherent choices. We therefore agree to not sacrifice those goods.

And we know we are all just people and so to protect those goods we need openness, oversight, accountability, and equality under the law.

That’s why we choose representative democracy over other forms of government. And it’s why limiting power and fighting corruption are integral to a healthy representative democracy.

work in progress

copyright: AM Watson