Follow Us
Americans like to point out that they live in a democracy, but often neglect to mention that it is a representative democracy. In other words, we don’t all vote on the laws that are created; we all vote for our representatives, who in turn vote on the laws that are created. This system, of course, was born out of necessity – it simply wasn’t feasible in a nation of this size to let every voice be heard. But has technology changed that?
Mashable reports that several users of the popular social bookmarking site are collectively writing legislation to protect the internet. The legislative draft, known as the Free Internet Act, was inspired by the SOPA/PIPA fight that happened in Congress earlier this year. Could social media usher in an era of pure democratic legislation? Have Congressional representatives become irrelevant? Is the way to break partisan gridlock in Washington DC to use social media to give political power back to the people at large?
Image: Damian Brandon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
About Seth Resler