Peace, I would love to see a slot on the ballot that says, "None of these candidates are acceptable."

Ever read a book entitled First Democracy : The Challenge of an Ancient Idea by Paul Woodruff? Most informative little book. Woodruff explains why the party system almost invariable ends up presenting slated of candidates that represent a very narrow range of positions, and often none that represent what the citizens in general really want. The ancient Greeks knew this and although there were factions, they didn't have official political parties as we do. They chose their public officials in a way that would made being a professional politician next to impossible. And they held their public officials responsible.

Greek democracy was far from perfect, but in some crucial ways, it worked a whole lot better that ours.

The book is a fascinating read.

Don Firth

Don Firth