Considering Democracy & Policy Solutions by Keya Lea Horiuchi

Thank you for the opportunity to blog with Ironweed Films and thank you for the opportunity to be included in your lineup of (fabulous!) films.

“Considering Democracy” is a film that I hope will continue to widen the scope of debate in the United States as we look toward solutions. I feel that we are at a tremendous and momentous time within the United States of America. We are at the threshold of it all. As we go forward, we must do so as a country. Yet it seems that as individuals in America, we are divided, based upon the sources of our information.

During the same time that the film went out on Ironweed Films, I was touring the country, driving to different communities, screening “Considering Democracy” and having questions and discussion afterward. I found that there is currently a lot of emotion, together with polarization, along with a tremendous desire to define and work towards policy solutions that work for the People in America. It’s quite a combination. I think that change does need to come from the People, and with that, I think that it is up to us, as regular people in society, to begin discussing issues and policy with one another.

“Considering Democracy” offers a comparison of the U.S. to other developed countries, along with points of view from abroad. As I worked on the editing process, there was an earlier edition of the film that showed just the foreign point of view. People who looked at the early edition said that while it was interesting, they didn’t know if any of what people said abroad, was true. Thus, the research began and currently appears as quick bits of information throughout the film. I also looked at why the U.S. is drastically different in its policy than all the other developed democracies. The introductory segments with the weaver and the questions at the end of each section were a way to structure the film so that each chapter began and ended in a similar way. People have asked me if I want people to ask the questions, verbatim, to representatives, and while I do want people to be actively engaged in the political process after representatives are elected, I really want people to think about the issues.

It is my hope that the film can act as a catalyst to get people thinking about possible solutions. We must also be aware of the current political structure and how the system interacts with it. Once we vote our representatives into office, the lobbying mechanism will swing into action. The policy solutions are out there, but there will be a resistance from people who listen exclusively to conservative media formats. We need to begin to build bridges to these people. Please consider sharing your Ironweed films with other friends who might have different informational sources. Thank you for taking a look at the film.

- by Keya Lea Horiuchi, Director, Considering Democracy: 8 Things to Ask Your Representative (Ironweed Films Volume 35: October 2008) For more information, visit http://www.ironweedfilms.com

Call It Democracy & The Electoral College by Matt Kohn

Elections are serious. Since World War Two, the human race has had the opportunity to extinguish itself. And the person making at least some of the decision regarding whether or not to use nuclear weapons is a single individual chosen by a system we have not changed since 1800.

We may never again live in a time when life or death struggles of our species are decided slowly. So it’s with that in mind that we must look critically at the Electoral College.

The purpose of the college was to elect to the Presidency a human being of at least 35 years of age who has resided in the United States for no less than 14 years and is lucky enough to have been born here. Otherwise, the sky is the limit. In theory this person is quite immune from the effects of their own decisions. A treasonous act committed by you or I could become the most patriotic decision if mandated by the President. And in the winner-takes-all system of accruing votes of all kinds, essentially, we vote for whomever wins.

While campaigning, the candidate will look at the most recent polling data, trying to understand the citizens most likely to change their votes in the candidate’s favor in unique districts across wide swaths of American experience. The gold is in the small precincts which can cause an entire state to be won, and therefore, an avalanche of Electoral votes.

This is kind of like watching sand balancing on scales to determine weight.

What I learned investigating the results of the last two Presidential elections is that pretty much every national election is prone to rigging and ultimately the betrayal of the will of the people. Even “will” as expressed through the Electoral College itself.

Watching my film, you will learn how this came to be, why it’s not going away soon, and how it has effects in every election. Watching my film, you’ll discover the historical truth that it’s not the name of the party, or a set of principles that goes back to the early 1800s, but the sense of advantage which determines how any party will react when faced with the civil rights challenges inherent in deciding by what method people vote.

This film presents the best argument from all sides. I don’t want to be bored by politicians and neither do you. What I want is to explore the mental gymnastics, tactics, and justifications that are the basics before asking yourself if the results of an election are “fair.”

I’m not going to tell you outright that the Electoral College should be abolished. I’ll help you learn about why you probably already feel that way.

--Matt Kohn, Director, Call It Democracy (Ironweed Films Volume 30: May 2008)
Visit www.ironweedfilms.com/films to learn more.