ruveyn wrote:
One of my Radical Ideas is that to hold a high office, the office holder must wear a radio controlled explosive device around his neck. If 60 percent of the people he represents or has jurisdiction over send in a negative judgment the device explodes blowing the guy's head off. If he removes the device that is a resignation of the office.
Think of it as recall on steroids.
ruveyn
Now you are officially freaking me out. Although you are 30 years older than me, you sound like my highschool boyfriend. I mean
literally, word for word. One day he came to school and started telling everybody this idea he had. That idea (the explosive collar) made me really uncomfortable and we argued about it for the better part of a school day. I asked him where he''d read it or who he'd heard it from. He said he thought it up on his own.
I have never heard or read anybody else express the exact same idea since I was 17 and with him. Now I'm 43. And this is the second time I've ever heard it. I'm not arguing the pros and cons of the idea. It's just such a peculiarly unique idea that it weirds me out that two people 30 years apart would both think it up- but that it hasn't entered the zietgeist at all so you and him must just tick the same way.
So tell me...is this your unique idea or did you read about it somewhere many years ago? I'm just wondering if there's some source you both got it from (although my highschool boyfriend said it popped into his head) or if you and he just have such similar trains of thought that you both had this unique idea that just never occured to enough other people for it to show up in fiction or political commentary.
For the record, awesomelyglorious's argument against it was one of the one's I made to my boyfriend: that some people would cause the ring to explode for the sheer fun of it, rather than for any political reason. (I also argued against political reasons- it simply makes political assassination the norm). Although, since I was a highly overwrought and emotional 17 year old girl, I probably brought more angst and handwringing to that particular argument than awesomelyglorious.
Last edited by Janissy on 18 Jun 2010, 4:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.