Podcasts about national town square

Aired Tuesday, 24 July 2018, 5:00 PM ESTThe Great Upwising and the New Common SenseHow to Establish Government By the People By Creating an Ecosystem for Civic Engagement An Interview with… Me!“We’re all in the same boat. The Titanic is sinking. And the lifeboat is the Love Boat.” — Swami BeyondanandaAs I notice how easy it is to get caught up in the drama of Trump vs. anti-Trump, and how important it is for us to hold a meta-conversation about politics, I have sometimes felt I have been talking to myself.Well, fair enough.This week I WILL be talking to myself. My interview is with me, as I look to glean what I have learned in nine months of interviewing solutionaries on Wiki Politiki Radio, and particularly my work with Richard Lang and Lupton Abshire to bring about a National Town Square as “freedom of assembly 3.0.”As a political scientist by training — and no, I never did get to actually dissect a politician in poly sci lab — I recognize three meta-principles of politics at play:1. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 2. Divide and conquer is a time-tested way to keep the populace from uniting around common interests. 3. Qui bono — who benefits? … or as we say these days, “follow the money.”Seen from this meta-view, we have a political puppet show designed to usurp our creative energy and keep us divided as the unchecked, unbalanced, unmitigated power of money and domination consolidates its influence and strangles off the last vestiges of democracy.Unless of course, we awaken together and change course.I’m calling this awakening — which is already happening on many fronts — the Great Upwising as we the people cultivate a new common sense: a commonly-sensed consensus that moves above and beyond left and right to the heart and soul of who we are.If you’re ready to see beyond anger and fear to a functional, sane, coherent and generative vision for our future, please tune in this Tuesday, July 24th at 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET: http://omtimes.com/iom/shows/wiki-politiki-radio-show/Or, find us on the Wiki archives on Wednesday: http://wikipolitiki.com/archives/How you can support Wiki PolitikiIf you LOVE what you hear, and appreciate the mission of Wiki Politiki, “put your money where your mouse is” … Join the “upwising” — join the conversation, and become a Wiki Politiki supporter: http://wikipolitiki.com/join-the-upwising/Go ahead, PATRONIZE me! Support Wiki Politiki monthly through Patreon!

No matter what end of the spectrum you’re on, politics is exhausting. In our world of fake news, Russian hacks, controversies, and conspiracies, the endless cycle wears us down. Almost every facet of our lives has become politicized, and with it, our society has become completely polarized. Even slight ideological differences can turn similar people into bitter enemies. We’re stuck in a deadlock, and without communication between parties, no progress will be made. Our guest today has a bold plan to untangle our politics.  Richard Lang, author of Virtual Country: Strategy for 21st Century Democracy and founder of Burst joins us to explain his plan to create a safe space for political discourse. By taking away the labels of Republican and Democrat, issues become about the individuals and their stories. Richard explains that our government has become influenced by money, rather than values. National Town Square would take control of the wealthy and place it back in the hands of the voters. On today’s episode, Richard explains the conception of his idea, how to create a neutral environment for discussion, and how you can voice your opinions and ideas in your story. Tune in today, and learn how each of us has a voice that can change the world. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/getyourbrandstorystraight Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.  

Aired Tuesday, 6 February 2018, 5:00 PM ESTNational Town Square, Part 2 - The New “Common Sense” and a Coherent Voice for We the PeopleA Conversation With Richard Lang, Author, Virtual Country And Rev. Lupton Abshire, Democracy Calling And… YOU!“We need a new PRECEDENT. Government of, by and for the people where the government does OUR bidding, not the bidding of the highest bidder.” — Swami BeyondanandaTwo weeks ago, our guest Richard Lang laid out an outside the (ballot) box strategy where a key missing ingredient can be added to “government by the people” — the PEOPLE!His new book, Virtual Country: Strategy for 21st Century Democracy, offers a simple and yet radical (meaning: to the root) way for we the people to have “an individual vote, a collective voice” that could very well call forth a “new common sense.” Writes Richard:“By accessing and quantifying our common sense, one issue at a time, in an authenticated, secure, easy-to-use way that gives each citizen a voice and a vote, we can begin to define our collective values, desires and priorities as a nation, and in so doing, transcend the partisanship and polarization that has gripped our democracy.”To discuss what a National Town Square might look like, how it could work, and why and how it can rebalance the balance of power in favor of we the people, we will also be talking with Rev. Lupton Abshire, Director — Strategic Outreach for the National Town Square. He’s an Episcopal priest with over 25 years of experience serving faith communities around the country and in East Africa. His academic background includes degrees in organizational behavior, theology and philosophy. Originally from the Washington D.C. area, he lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with his four teenagers, three dogs, two birds … and one wife. Lupton will talk about how and why he got involved with this project, and offer a unique perspective that bridges spiritual, personal and political.And for the first time, YOU the listener will be able to join us with your questions and comments! Remember the show is broadcast live Tuesday at 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET. We will begin taking questions at half past the hour, and you can call in at 202-570-7057. As our friend Caroline Casey would say, “Co-operators are standing by!”Join us this Tuesday, February 6th as we explore a way to “overgrow” our corrupt and dysfunctional two-party pay-to-play duopoly, and discover “who we are” together.

Aired Tuesday, 23 January 2018, 5:00 PM EST National Town Square — A New National Institution to Represent “Us” and “We-Distribute” Political Power A Conversation With Richard Lang, Author of Virtual Country “We don’t need a revolution to overthrow the system. We need an evolution to help us overgrow it.” — Swami Beyondananda If you’ve had the sense that the will of the ordinary citizen in America has little or no impact on what legislation actually gets passed — you’re right. A study conducted by Princeton University in 2014 concluded: “The preferences of the average American appear to have only a miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.In other words, a huge majority of American citizens can support a policy like, for example, Net Neutrality — but if this policy flies in the face of what the most influential corporations want … well, we’ve seen what’s happened to Net Neutrality in recent months. And, if the overwhelming majority of Americans OPPOSE a policy — like the war on drugs — if more powerful interests want to continue it, those citizens may as well be talking to a wall. Could this be why fewer Americans exercise their right to vote than any other “democratic” country in the world? Might be we need to rename our system “Futilism” because of the futility of voting for a candidate, who does the bidding of the highest bidder instead of doing your bidding? Our guest this week, Richard Lang, has come up with a “meta-strategy” for bringing the collective (and amplified) voice of we the people to the forefront of politics. The idea starts with an observation: For the first time in known human history, it is now possible to convene an unlimited number of citizens, in one place, at one time, to cast collective, non-binding, advisory votes on any issue of collective concern or importance. Think of it as Freedom of Assembly 3.0. Richard, a software developer who launched a highly successful company, Burst.com in the 1990s, launched another company, Democrasoft to help “evolve democracy and empower individuals” in the 21st century. The result is his Virtual Country book, and the National Town Square platform. Writes Richard, “National Town Square is a new national institution for civic engagement, focused on issues instead of political parties and blind ideology — a powerful new counter-balance to the corrupting influence of big money in politics.” Imagine … a space — nongovernmental, non-corporate, nonpartisan, independent of the mainstream media — where each citizen can have a voice and a verifiable vote , and these votes can be tabulated to indicate not just how citizens feel about certain issues, but how strongly they feel. What if ten million or twenty million or fifty million American voters declared, “We want this”? While that vote would have no legal standing, simply recognizing the overwhelming support for a certain policy would provide pressure on legislators to adhere to the people’s will. Or face opposition at the polls. Another important feature / factor of National Town Square. Each citizen who participates has a verifiable and secure (as secure as a bank card) vote on any issue that can be changed, should new information emerge. No bots. Only real people. If your curious as to how this institution can be put in place, and safeguarded inside a “walled garden” to insure its integrity, please tune in for this enlightening and inspiring conversation about what can only be called an American evolution. Find out more about the National Town Square here: https://www.nationaltownsquare.us/ Find out more about the Virtual Country book here: