WHERE NONE HAS GONE BEFORE

I have always loved science fiction. William Shattner was not a big 'ham actor' to me. This was great entertainment. The future was secure. The human race had survived its myriad problems and gone on to greater things. The pollution of water, air, soil and the corruption of food was gone. The hatred between races was dissolved as humankind went onward and outward. Unfortunately, it was never satisfactorily explained just how this future Utopia came about. Through the miracle of celluloid and video tape, we simply jumped ahead to this new age of uncommonly good sense and reason.

Let me be so bold as to go where few have gone before, and tell you how you get there.

It does not come by magic or wishful thinking. It takes a plan, with dedication and determination to see the plan through. Most important of all, you have to be involved in the first step.

The first step in this strategy is to collectively admit to ourselves that we are on the wrong road. We need a new direction. Hey, this is really, really, tough. As you know by now, most men refuse to ask for directions, no matter how badly we are lost. Since the governments of the world, in general, are male, adult, single minded, macho, assertive, and determined individuals, they will never admit to being lost, so we need to remove them from behind the wheels and put in new drivers.

Are you still with me? OK? Okay.

First buy a new map.

Find an alternative route, and be prepared to alter course as the need arises.

Change Drivers.

Slow Down.

Turn off 'Disaster Freeway' as it goes through some real desolated country and you will not like the destination.

Better to take the scenic route.

Turn off the air conditioner, roll down the windows and learn to accept what is offered.

Ignore the back seat drivers who are trying to change your course.

Ignore those juveniles telling you to speed up.

Drive slowly enough so that you can see and avoid the obstacles that are sure to be ahead.

Enjoy the ride but stop frequently to appreciate the miracles of this great planet.

OK, this was fun, but on a serious note; it is what needs to happen if we want a better future. It is not a future for ourselves; we will go where all past generations have gone before-back to nature. A better future is the greatest present you can leave for the next, and the next, and the next generations.

What is this, "buying a new map" about, that I mentioned above? It is simply changing the elector system of this great country to Proportional Representation. The rest may, or may not fall into place once you have acquired it. I can assure you that it won't, if you don't.

Politicians and the electorate, as a whole, are generally quite complacent, if not totally satisfied, with the traditional electoral system. Many believe that it is our tradition and has reached the ultimate in evolution. Many people see the faults but have no idea how to resolve them. To many others it is self evident. 'Elections should be for the benefit of the electorate and not for the benefit of private interests or political careers.'

It is difficult to change the attitudes and traditions of people. As an example, it took forty years to persuade ship owners to accept the introduction of orange juice as a method of preventing scurvy among their crews. This happened even though it was common knowledge.

The following quotation is from a fellow named Schopenhauer. "All truth passes though three stages. First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self evident." Think about it.

I will write a few papers on the subject of Proportional Representation over the next couple of months.

There was only one book on the subject at the Cambridge library and unfortunately someone apparently stole it. A champion of the status quo, I assume.

Have a nice day.