Call to action for ‘We the People’

I am happy to report this nation’s form of government, representative democracy, is working very well. This is the good news.

The bad news, unfortunately, is that representative democracy is working only for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. This selected group has been buying politicians and governments — at the state and federal levels — for several decades.

In order to return to a form of government where all Americans are represented, many things must happen. It is possible that many will never happen unless “We the People” forcefully demand them.

Here is some of what I believe should happen:

1. Replace the Electoral College with the popular vote.

2. Congressional districts should be drawn with simple shapes such as squares or rectangles (instead of looking like strands of DNA).

3. Voter registration and the oversight of national elections should rest in the hands of the Department of Justice. People elected to Congress represent the nation first and their states second.

I believe under these conditions, politicians who want to govern (and the political party they represent) will flourish. Politicians who want to rule (and the political party they represent) will be marginalized and eventually disappear from the political landscape.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 9:29 PM with the headline "Call to action for ‘We the People’."