monday morning qb: some food for thought..

this is as good a time as any to focus on the bigger picture -- too much time is spent on the devil's details, and not many people give much thought to the box that we are in.

the self-proclaimed "world's greatest democracy" needs to take a lesson or two from our south american neighbors -- and in order for there to be real progress (i.e. equal representation), a lot of people have to change a lot of things. our democracy will not become whole by osmossis.

last friday's miami herald talked about "in americas, women rising to top jobs" -- and not just about the plethora of women leaders, but how the passage of quota laws guaranteeing seats for women in legislatures (usually 20-25%) had made such a difference. argentina passed such in 1991 and immediately went from 6 t0 26%, and today is seventh in the world at 37.2%. seems like some people took the beijing conference to heart while we still promote party hacks who say, "we don't do that here."

there is never a good time to reform a political system, because change doesn't happen overnight -- but we need to start sometime, like now. political leaders and party leaders, past and present, must make changing the rules and fixing our system a priority -- and that is just the bottom line. talk is cheap, and we are tired of lip service.

we need real ideas and the stomach to make things happen. big ideas (like those of lani guinier for full representation) and proven strategies (like "every open seat a woman's seat") must rise to the top of the political priority list -- and this is what howard dean, jimmy carter, and hillary clinton should be talking about!

who will be that visionary who gets the ball rolling for real change? who will have the courage to put party politics aside and show the way? who really cares about equal representation?

and i bet the american people are more interested in saving our democracy than our alleged leaders might think.

have a great week!