Toward a Rational Democratic Process

Toward a Rational Democratic Process

This is the seed of what I hope will become a platform which assists larger communities with their decision making processes. The tools provided on this website are tools designed to help with a rational and democratic decision making process. Helping people to connect, share information, resources and services is a much deeper democratic process than simply voting. So the focus of this site is to link users with; news, research, organizations, businesses, items for sale, local barter groups, local worker's groups, small loans, local services, local businesses, non-profits, and governments, all in an organized fashion.

Drawing from my knowledge and personal experience (granted, not the most extensive but sufficient) I have come up with the following outline of a communal rational discussion when pursuing a collective choice. I refer to these 3 steps as "If" "Then" "Therefore". The three steps should consist of the following elements:

1. Presentation of an hypothesis including its assumed importance. ("If")

This step is usually included in group and political discussions. However it is often truncated or disguised as a fact instead of a supposition. It is also posited with an emotional appeal or dressed up with a bit of decorative wordage. (example: President Trump hypothesizes; "If": crossing of the US southern border by undocumented immigrants is a major source of crime.)

In this Wiki this step is included as "Foundational."

2. Collection and organization of unbiased relevant data. ("Then")

This process is commonly omitted in group and political discussions. This process can be slow and labor intensive and can sometimes conflict with the posited hypothesis. These realities make it convenient to gloss over this step without thorough research. (example: President Trump brings the data of individual anecdotes to support his above hypothesis. "Then": Stories of individual US citizens killed by undocumented immigrants. This is a weak source of data, especially when broader more encompassing research is available. In this case the more encompassing research shows undocumented immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than US citizens.)

In this Wiki this step is included as "Effect" (or in the general public sphere as "News")

3. Drawing conclusions. ("Therefore")

This is the endpoint that most group and political discussions are trying to achieve. Unfortunately this "solution" is worthless without first a clear presentation of hypothesis and an accumulation and organization of relevant data. (Example: President Trump concludes "Then": that a tall wall on the US southern border will reduce undocumented immigration substantially and therefore reducing crime substantially as well. In this example he dwells on the "solution" without a proper presentation of hypothesis ("If") and only the barest and emotional glance at data ("Then").

In this Wiki this step is included as "Solutions".

So by these measurements, President Trump's attempt at a rational democratic discussion of undocumented immigration falls short. It is neither democratic nor is it rational.