Living on the Edge: The Most Dangerous Time in History | Scott Ritter & Larry C. Johnson

Barry Klein

Direct democracy can stop the carnage in Gaza and Ukraine.
===============================================
Recent American history shows us a workaround to the lock Neocons have on the two major parties. You may recall the Nuclear Freeze project of the early 80s. It actually had a great deal of success using direct democracy  (DD) in the form of advisory elections at local and state levels.

Those local elections changed the national debate on nuclear weapons and compelled officeholders in Washington, who are mostly elected locally, to change their voting behavior.

I have 40 years experience as a local activist working on projects using the DD tool. I suggest you investigate its potential because it is the reform tactic that lets the grassroots shape policy debates… EVEN FOREIGN POLICY. Professor John Matsusaka (Univ. of Southern California) is the expert.

Personal websitehttps://www.johnmatsusaka.com/

His work:Initiative and Referendum institute https://www.iandrinstitute.org/

He can be seen on YouTube, such as in this podcast: Can Direct Democracy Defuse Populism? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGrZt9KtnbM&t=1496s

Matsusaka’s book explains the reform mechanism…“Let The People Rule” .

This book by historian Henry Maar details a peace movement success story using direct democracy: “FREEZE! The Grassroots Movement to Halt the Arms Race and End the Cold War” https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501760884/freeze/#bookTabs=1

DD has two variants, binding and non-binding ballot measures. Both carry political weight. Feel free to ask for details. For instance, this non-binding Question, similar to what was used by Freeze activists in the 1980s, can be placed on local ballots in 2025:

“Should the United States adhere to the constitution in matters of war, prioritize use of diplomacy to resolve international differences, negotiate elimination of nuclear weapons, and encourage countries at war to initiate peace talks?” YES_________NO_________

Barry Klein
2207 Hardy Street
Houston, Texas, 77026
Phone: 713-224-4144
ForeignPolicyAlliance.org

=====================================================

For more information about this underused reform tool see the Ballot Measures Overview and Advisory question pages on Ballotpedia.org, the website of Ballot Initiative Strategy Center for help with state level ballot measures, and ForeignPolicyAlliance.org, a Houston, Texas group working to align US actions abroad with the American Constitution.