Could we truly govern ourselves with this grassroots direct-democracy (‘NC-PA’), even in these ‘unprecedented’ times?

 

Direct Democracy through Neighborhood Councils-Precinct Assembly (NC-PA)?

The grassroots direct-democracy system is called the “Neighborhood Councils-Precinct Assembly (NC-PA),” and is a deeply democratic self government that’s genuinely of, by, and for ‘we the people.’  When combined with the local economic assistance of Neighborhood Gifting Groups (NGGs), NC-PAs can act as powerhouses of positive change for society.

The NC-PA Manual – Front Cover

 

The NC-PA Manual – Back Cover


Judge for yourself, either by:

· Downloading excerpts here (a .pdf file) from the The Manual for the Neighborhood Council–Precinct Assembly (NC-PA) (the NC-PA Manual), which include: front matter, table of contents, brief summaries of each of the ‘9 Pillars of NC-PA,’ an ‘NC-PAs-in-a-Nutshell’ description, plus the very descriptive back cover),

 

   and/or

·    Downloading the NC-PA Manual in full here (a .pdf file). 

I understand the skepticism about practicality, but just hear this out.

NC-PA Details

History is littered with the failures or—at best—very limited effects of grassroots direct-democracy systems (e.g., the Green Party of the U.S.(GPUS)) that try to work within and influence pre-existing political systems, especially ones that are ‘winner-take-all’ versions of the representative-democracy system that exists in the U.S.

But what if there is a direct-democracy political system that does work well within such a pre-existing political system? There is: it’s the Neighborhood Councils—Precinct Assembly (NC-PA), which can work even in these ‘unprecedented times.’

NC-PA’s Secret: NC-PA is Voting-Precinct and ‘Neighborhood-Council’ based

Being voting-precinct based means that—geographically speaking—every NC-PA is automatically tied into our current electoral system at its most fundamental level. Every election district in the nation—no matter how small or large (e.g., that of a city council member, state representative/senator, Congressional representative/senator, etc.)—every single one of these is composed of voting precincts. Voting precincts are the most irreducible geographical component of those districts, and can contain anywhere from several hundred to several thousand registered voters.

NC-PA is a system of citizen-based, directly democratic self-government based at the voting-precinct level that is genuinely of, by, and for ‘we the people.’ 

The Two Parts of an NC-PA

A voting precinct’s NC-PA is composed of two parts:

   (1) the “Neighborhood Councils (NCs)” and

   (2) the “Precinct Assembly (PA).”

(1) The Neighborhood Councils (NCs) operate within the voting precinct and are similar to self-selected affinity groups. They form in the voting precinct with those having similar outlooks on ‘how things ought to be,’ and every 1–2 weeks either gather regularly and in person. NC members discuss issues of concern in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust-based-on-trustworthiness. They then make decisions as to how to engage those issues, and then act on those decisions, using trust-based-on-genuine-trustworthiness (as defined by each member, and decidedly not ‘blind trust’) and basic group-decision-making techniques. 

Such group-decision-making techniques allow NC members to pool their individual views to create new united views. Decisions especially include determining what issues/concerns to take to the Precinct Assembly for precinct-wide deliberation, decision-making, and action by the entire NC-PA of that precinct. NC decisions also include choosing delegates to take those issues/concerns to the Precinct Assembly (at 1 PA delegate per 5 NC members, with 1 delegate allowed for any ‘excess’ membership that is not evenly divisible by 5).

(However, if meeting/gathering restrictions are in place in your area, and an NC has more than the maximum persons allowed at one gathering, an NC can still be held via holding multiple smaller NC gatherings held at different locations. Each of these smaller NC gatherings consists of no more than the mandated maximum number of attendees, and each is connected by messengers who pickup and deliver issue-status reports, tentative decisions made, agenda work yet to be done, etc. to the other small NC gatherings. This allows all NC participants to know what all the smaller NC gatherings are working on and be kept informed of the overall status of each NC agenda item.  Under such circumstances, NC participants are encouraged to attend a different smaller NC gathering every time an NC meeting is scheduled, in order to increase the cross-fertilization of ideas, solutions, etc.)

(2) The Precinct Assembly (PA) meets monthly in the voting precinct. The PA—using an experienced facilitator and more formal deliberation and decision-making techniques—enables the PA delegates from the NCs to see more of—and thus more successfully engage with and act on—the entire reality of any given situation. This is not in spite of, but because of the diversity of their NCs, as well as the emphasis placed on mutual respect for the persons speaking, even if what they say might be disagreeable.

 (Although this process would be slowed down if state-mandated meeting restrictions are in place, holding multiple meetings connected by messengers (as described above regarding holding multiple smaller NC gatherings) would be the most practical option.)

 

Then we can actually work together to determine our own destiny, instead of allowing that to be determined by a plutocratic few acting for their own self interests.

“By individually and collectively using techniques of deep democracy and group processes—old and new—at the level of today’s neighborhoods and voting precincts, the NC-PA system finally actualizes Thomas Jefferson’s long-held dream for the establishment of local, authentically democratic, self-government.”

The NC-PA Manual quote refers to Jefferson’s “ward-republics” idea, a form of direct democracy, from the very local level to nationwide, which he began promoting around 1816 (see https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_republic ).

 

Please note that establishing *total* election integrity is essential to any NC-PA system, and total election integrity is possible *only* via: hand-counted, publicly observed at all times, secure-chain-of-custody at all stages, paper ballots (with a machine recount of the ballots if desired, for verification). 

Genuine election integrity is crucial, because it is the ultimate source of any long-term NC-PA political power.

 

 Neighborhood Gifting Groups (NGGs) Can Lead to the Creation of NC-PAs

To lighten the immediate and pressing economic hardships during these ‘unprecedented times’ (and/or if you decide that the conditions are not right for starting an NC-PA), one or more Neighborhood Gifting Groups (NGGs) can be established. NGGs help immensely, as they enable local economic self-help assistance via self-organizing groups of neighbors or residents of a local area. An NGG is a regularly held (e.g., weekly/bi-weekly) gathering of neighbors who share with each other their resources (e.g., skills, materials, tools, etc.) and needs (e.g., “A truck for a specific day/time”, “Office supplies”; “A ladder”; “Transportation to the doctor’s office”; etc.). Over time, NGGs deepen bonds of trust among participants and generate community economic and social cohesion and resilience, dovetailing perfectly with an NC-PA political system.

Start Now

So—please—download the NC-PA Manual excerpts and/or the entire NC-PA Manual *today* (links to their .pdf files are at the top of this post), read the contents, and start an Neighborhood Councils-Precinct Assembly (NC-PA) and/or Neighborhood Gifting Group (NGG) in your area.  You can also forward—or duplicate and forward—copies of this NC-PA Manual (along with its cover letter) to those you deeply trust and whom you think would be sincerely interested in creating such groups.

We need to co-create systems that work, and very soon.

 

Neighborhood Council – Precinct Assembly (NC-PA)