YTP PHILOSOPHY
...In
essence it is about making a better humanity, that will make
a better government, that will make a better world. Here are
the three quotes that illustrate what we are trying to do:
You
The PEOPLE
is
a training program for citizens of democratic republics. Since
citizens are the base of power in democratic forms of government,
their performance is critical to its long term success. The
Founders of the United States are the authors of modern successful
democracy. We have researched and been faithful to their concepts
while also looking at modern examples and methods in designing
our program. It is multi-level and interdisciplinary and written
in plain english for the average citizen. It shows people
the principles and ideals of a democratic republic and trains
them to accomplish the duties of its highest office, citizen.
This
work has four unique aspects not found in any democratic system
to date. They are designed to break the failure cycle common
to all democracies/republics thus far in history and most
famously outlined by Lord Thomas MacCauley in the mid 1800's.
The
aspects are:
1.
That the process of democratic action and decision making
is as important as the end result.
2.
That democracy is as much concerned with human nature as it
is with government. Thus, the continuing improvement of the
human nature of its constituents through free choice should
be a major objective of every form of democratic system.
3.
That the most important thing each citizen should know
how to do is to carry out their most critical responsibility
of citizenship - - the election of people of knowledge, wisdom,
ability, and high moral character to represent them.
4.
That citizenship is a job and should have a minimum standard
for all to meet and training available to all at all times
to help them meet it.
This
training should include:
a. The ideas and ideals of democracy.
b. The way a particular form of democracy works.
c. The rights and responsibilities of the citizens.
Of
Note:
On
May 23, 1857, in a letter to an American friend, Lord Thomas
MacCauley wrote:
A
democracy cannot survive as a permanent form of government.
It can last only until its citizens discover that they can
vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that
moment on, the majority (who vote) will vote for those candidates
promising the greatest benefits from the public purse, with
the result that a democracy will always collapse from loose
fiscal policies, always followed by a dictatorship.
The
average age of the world's greatest democratic nations has
been 200 years.
Each
has been through the following sequence:
From
bondage to spiritual faith.
From faith to great courage.
From courage to liberty.
From liberty to abundance.
From abundance to complacency.
From complacency to selfishness.
From selfishness to apathy.
From apathy to dependency.
And from dependency back again into bondage.
Therefore,
YTP asks you, Can we escape this fate?
©2000. You The People,
Inc. All rights reserved.
Site designed and maintained by Castano Design Associates-@ArtsGloucester. |
|