Who Wants a Functional Democracy?

Americans don't vote. No surprise there. We live in a democracy. The choice is yours. We also love to gamble. More of us by lottery tickets than vote. Go figure.

Arizona has a strategy. Make the election a lottery. If you vote, you have a chance of winning one million dollars. With the odds at 1 in 2 million, that's better than most lotteries.

Pickin numbers isn't that different than picking your future leaders and representatives. We fixate on superstitions, birthdays, and irrational ideas to pick our lotto numbers. All connected by the hope of LUCK. We vote based on superstitions, abortion stance, gay marriage stance, affirmative action stance, religious beliefs. All connected by the hope that everyone that we pick will maintain the STATUS QUO.

Enron didn't wake us up. America's lagging education system is something we have come to accept. Our ever growing debt isn't bothering ME. Katrina was merely a case of bad weather gone wrong. The Iraq war is a war of moral principles. Affordable housing has become a thing of the past. Gasoline isn't a right, it's a privilege.

Do we need to wake up? Do we need new leadership? Do we need to assume more responsibility for ourselves and our communities? Do we need to make our voice heard? Nah. We need a million dollars.