If the election of 2000 reminded us that every vote counts, the election of 2008 has provoked a wholesale political awakening. Across every demographic and in every corner of the globe, American politics is, as Tina Brown might say, the big fat story.
At the website Big Think, we interview luminaries from business, culture, finance, entertainment, education, academia, religion, and media--some of the most important thinkers of our time. With the help of the latest internet video technology, these experts share big ideas and users respond, and even remix our videos, to create ideas that are bigger than the sum of their parts.
What we've discovered is that T. Boone Pickens isn't the only man with a plan. Smart, passionate people everywhere are now taking public policy into their own hands. The action plan has become the next evolutionary stage in America's tradition of political protest. Now, if you don't like the way government is working, then get a better idea, write it down, videotape it, digitize it, and share it with the world, or at least the people who have the ability to make change.
Big Think is launching a campaign to solicit action plans on America's most urgent problems with a new video by political filmmaker Max Blumenthal. You can view it at www.bigthink.com/whatsyourplan. "What's Your Plan?" is platform for people to recommend new ideas and fresh perspectives on the challenges we face as a nation, from the economic crisis to the environment, from health care to energy, from education to the war in Iraq.
Essentially, we are uncapping intellectual capital and democratizing public policy. Big Think editors will highlight the best ideas and let visitors respond, vote, and critique. We will aggregate the entries with like-minded (and contradictory) plans as well, fueling further discussion and debate. In addition, Big Think is partnering with the Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, to interview public policy experts about their action plans.
Those videos will air beside text-based plans published in Roll Call and on Big Think. So follow the lead of people like Bill and Melinda Gates, Al Gore, Michael Bloomberg, Lawrence Summers, and T. Boone Pickens and create a smart, concise plan about something you care about. No plan is too thick or too thin. To submit your action plan, email us at plans@bigthink.com. And visit www.bigthink.com to watch it progress.
Online collaboration means these plans will grow and evolve--they don't have to be perfect the first time. The election season is over. Now is the time for action. What's Your Plan?