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I am NOT going to a vigil tonight for the people who died in yesterday's shooting in Pittsburgh.
Vigils, sit-ins, demonstrations and marching are all part of the status quo. Both peaceful and violent rhetoric are part of the status quo. All the political actions you know, and all well-known political organizations are part of the status quo.
In the fights of good against evil, us against them, love against hate, peace against violence, the parties against each other, third parties and independents, I, too, am prone to take sides. And they are all part of the status quo.
I'm sorry- that status quo isn't good enough for me. Yes, I voted. But I'm not going to a vigil.
I'm sorry I was so stupid that it took me over a half century to understand and design PeopleCount. I'm sorry you haven't been able to see what I see, and that I can't dispel the cultural myths in your head that keep you blind to real solutions. And I'm sorry if you find that insulting.
I'm sorry that the experts have been right up to this point, that it's very unlikely that one person working alone will create a successful startup. And I'm sorry I'm not wealthy, and that my family insists I work inside the dysfunctional status quo for an income.
If you want to help, make a donation. If you want to make a difference, take a leadership position in building a following and a support structure for PeopleCount and me.
In my view, a promising world is possible by 2025 if a few tens of thousands of people support PeopleCount soon. Obama declined after receiving an email. Several liberal billionaires refused to talk. Many more wealthy and well-connected liberals and conservatives and others either can not be reached or don't think my requests are worthy of a response.
My mother repeats a joke told by her late brother about old age: "Don't worry, it gets worse." We can say the same about the future. While technology will make some new things possible, what's likely in store for us is more violence, disease and deadly climate change.
The quality of life will ebb and flow, but the current trend is bad and getting worse. Our political and social systems are dysfunctional and unstable. Most likely? Humanity's future is dismal.
I offer you an alternative- a political communication system that, by design, makes politicians accountable to citizens instead of to party zealots and the wealthy. While not stifling the voices in the media, it's new communication channels are designed for the best constructive ideas to take hold.
I haven't had the team, time or money to build it yet, so all I can offer at the moment is words. See my blog.
Note- I'm a real nerd- a mathematician and problem solver with a sophisticated and unorthodox education. I can spend hours, even months, analyzing math, algorithms, problems and systems. I can't see what my articles look like to you, so I can't make you understand.
I've talked to about a thousand people and what they repeat back to me after I talk to them is rarely accurate. I can't afford to hire a writer, much less screen-writer and director to do PeopleCount justice. I've written a lot, but you'll have to take responsibility for your own understanding.
I'll keep trying to make progress. While you're welcome to have faith in the idea of PeopleCount and my intentions, please don't have faith that I'll succeed on my own. Optimism and faith are bad when they're used to avoid the truth: You're responsible for acting morally and effectively.
PeopleCount is not yet exciting. While PeopleCount will one day be responsible for its appeal, it's in its infancy. Currently, you are responsible for what you learn and your thoughts about it.
The vast majority of American adults want to end political fighting, corruption, and dysfunction. This large majority holds the bulk of political power in America. But our dysfunctional political system prevents us from working together to build it. Many of us retreat into resignation and apathy. Others band together into poorly-fitting groups, "fighting the good fight" against each other.
Our political system rewards the results we see- extreme, dysfunctional political parties, irresponsible government borrowing and public debt, expensive elections, and an economy where mostly the wealthy succeed. Plus a ruling party full of lies, blame and failures. Our county continues to drift away from its values.
PeopleCount, by design, will allow citizens to work together responsibly to create a country that works. With it, politicians will be rewarded for being accountable to voters. And voters will find it rewarding to hold them accountable. It's designed to let us step around our worst political problems so we can constructively work together to fix the rest.
So I won't be joining you for a vigil tonight.
If you want to donate, please do so here. If you want to read, please see my blog. If you want to support PeopleCount powerfully, build up its following.
'Best wishes,
-Randy
PS: Yes, instead of working on PeopleCount, or on personal things I must do before I get back to working on PeopleCount, I wrote this...