To increase voter and volunteer engagement to strengthen participatory government.

Voter apathy and community disengagement is leading to the decomposition of our society. Declining voter turnout, proliferation of broadcast media and population growth leads to further divide those chosen rulers and the masses.

In any campaigns – be it political, charity, local or national, there are three key resources to build upon: this candidate or issue, volunteers and money. It is human nature to wish to reward and strengthen the relationship with those we ascribe our fortune.

Citizen engagement is the sole exercise of power in a democratic society for the population-at-large, meant to counter-balance an over-reliance on the perspectives of the elected few. The strength of a community is determined not by its size, but its bond. Indeed, it is this very trust that underlines strong communities that underwrites our sense of value, namely money.

The advent of mass media, such as radio and television, accompanied by exponential population growth led to an acclamation of broadcast as the accepted communication choice of large groups. Initially their share of human attention skyrocketed, but as the number of channels and proliferation of alternate mediums grew, their audience has become segmented and over-assaulted.

Psychological scholarship moved to societal-level analysis such as identity and the definition of other, often overlooking the more pedestrian mechanisms of power relations, such as influence and cooperation. Their focus was largely warranted in a communication model where humans are largely receivers, but could not adequately approach one of two-way communication. In other words, the model focuses on the population as observers, rather than participants in decision-making.

This model of viewing power overly focuses on the power of the wolves, as Benjamin Franklin said: “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb.” In order to safeguard our liberty, our greatest ‘arms’ is participation.

Friedrich A. Hayek: “If we possess all the relevant information […] the problem which remains is purely one of logic… [T]he “data” from which the economic calculus starts are never for the whole society “given” to a single mind which could work out the implications, and can never be so given.”[1]

Those in power are often affected more by their situation than they are able to themselves affect often because of, not just despite, their limited perspective. A certain inevitability appears to produce from an onslaught of unseen happenstance. They are only able to steer their administration through the rapids, rather than pick their shore to land. Underlying power relations, the communication with those they do listen to, affect their understandings and perspectives on what is possible, or even right.

In the 1950s AT&T had the slogan “Communications Is the Foundation of Democracy.” At the beginning of each communications evolution: be it radio, television or social media, there is a groundswell of optimism that this new method will lead to a rebirth of participation and, therefore better, more responsible society. While each has enabled broader engagement, their attempt is to better replicate the deep or intimate bonds of personal relationship. Instead of heralding the medium, as AT&T was implying in its corporate slogan, it is relationship and participation, through communication, that is the “Foundation of Democracy.”

With increased connectivity and numbers, larger population units can be controlled with more similar perspectives. The apex of this movement is the totalitarian state of George Orwell’s “1984”, Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” and Aldous Huxley’s “A Brave New World.” In these books, the government urges a more unified reality and experience at the expense of individual perspective and self-actualization.

As James Bryce noted: “The People, though we think of a great entity when we use the word, means nothing more than so many millions of individual men.” The attempt of, or perhaps merely result from, unified perspective is to dull our differences making the people easier prey to control. The heroes in each the aforementioned novels, broke free of these limiting perspectives to bring more possibility in their worlds.

“The philosophers,” as Karl Marx explained, “have only interpreted the world in various ways. The point however is to change it.”[2] For, as Thomas Paine said: “The circumstances of the world are continually changing, and the opinions of men change also; and as government is for the living, and not for the dead, it is the living only that has any right in it. That which may be thought right and found convenient in one age, may be thought wrong and found inconvenient in another. In such cases, who is to decide, the living, or the dead?” Change and time are constant, and who is doing the change matters greatly as Abraham Lincoln said: “No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.”

I like to think D2D is taking Voltaire’s oft-quoted maxim, “I don’t agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” to the next level. Our world is less rich without your input and it is our mission to strengthen your ability to participate in our history. We seek to encourage your engagement by providing the tools for you to amplify your voice and, in turn, encourage others to more engagement as well.

D2D Campaign Solutions leverages the power of mobile to increase face-to-face engagement, motivating users to connect with people outside their social network. Building a strong community willing to engage people on political or social issues will encourage a better running democracy that responds to people and strengthens community. Low turnout in mature democracies suggests apathy and a feeling of inability to affect change – but apathy is self-defeating. Motivation for each individual to feel empowered and creating the opportunity to ‘do’ something lies at the heart of D2D.

So raise your voice and get involved. If you want change, then rise up and make it yourself. Bring others on board, but don’t sit back and expect a silent majority to affect change. Notice Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan “Yes we can” was not “Yes I can.” If we want to change our world for the better we do it by winning others to our side, motivating them to participate as well.

Get involved, stay active and fight the good fight because the world can be a better place, we just need to care enough to reach out make the difference. It is your life, live it to the full.