Money may bring an unholy crop
By George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing. I think it is pretty clear that when our Constitution was framed, the people who produced that document had a good idea of what they meant by free speech.I am fairly sure their idea was that people had the right to speak their minds in the hope that someone would agree with them and help move their ideas forward, and the government could not stop them.
The view I have always had of free speech is that the ideas of the public are important food to sustain the leaders of our country. If the president or members of Congress are fed the ideas, they chew on them for a while, digest them and spread them around, hopefully where they will do the most good.
It is a simple system, a lot like farming. Ideas from people are the start of something beneficial.
That is the ideal, but it depends on the willingness of politicians to accept what is put before them. That may be a thing of the past thanks to some possibly correct, but highly damaging, rulings made recently by the Supreme Court. It is money, not ideas, that will feed the process in the future. Politicians will soon be feeding from an intellectual monoculture and spreading those limited views. What results will be whatever weed can sprout — probably not something beautiful, and likely not healthy.
Confusing? Sorry, I am the grandson of a farmer and like to create agricultural metaphors.
Put more plainly: I am very worried about our democracy. I have been worried since 2010 when the Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case basically said political action committees should be treated as people and have the same right of free speech, also known as the right to shovel money into advocacy advertising. A more recent ruling by the Supreme Court significantly increases the amount of money individuals can spend on campaigns.
We all have plenty of money to spend on campaigns, right? Wrong. Many of us have not seen a pay raise in years, even as the wealthiest in this country get wealthier. We are too poor to influence elections.
More and more, money is being allowed to become the biggest factor in a political race. We have all come to understand that it costs a lot to run a political campaign, but these rulings take away the individual's ability to have an impact on government. Money talks.
Politicians may get into the business for good reasons; possibly they hope to save the world or want to improve it. Once in, it does not take long to realize they will never be able to pursue an agenda if they don't get enough money to get reelected.
Our well-meaning political leaders are now basically being held hostage by big money. The money is too much to ignore. It is the difference between getting, or not getting, elected. The money is enough to influence elections.
People can be fooled if enough money is thrown at an issue.
The people are also losing their ability to influence their leaders. It may be the dream of some people to donate $5, $10 or even $100 to a politician they like. The reality is, people are losing more and more of their voice in government. They can still write their congressman, sign petitions, picket, protest and vote, but why should a politician pay any attention to them? They don't have the money. Money talks more and more.
No one cares anymore about their small donations. Why should they? They may add up eventually to a decent amount, but $1 million or $2 million shoveled into advertising can change the game, and probably for the worse. This country is at risk of being run by an elite few.
America may be of the people, by the people and for the people, but this land no longer seems to be made for, or defined by, you and me.
After 9/11 and watching the false flag events of that day occur I began to take a much closer look at who runs this country of ours. Although most people are still asleep as to what is going on in this country I have found that the problem of who is in control goes back a long long way. It appears we have an Oligarchical system with a touch of Romanism much like what our forefathers tried to get away from when they set sail for what is now America. Here is a closer look at what happened on 9/11 if this does not stir your interest you should consider getting all of the fluoride out of your system.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZEvA8BCoBw
The people in Templeton voted at town meeting to ask for a investigation into wrong doing that has affected the town's ability to provide services to the residents of that town. Has that been done?? No, it hasn't ! So why not ? The people did the right thing, in asking at a legal town meeting, and the vote is now a part of the history of the town. Money more than anything, is the reason our request has been ignored. Money and political pull has trumped the voice of the people. What do we do now ? Oh yes, we can go to our representatives to get the job done. After all isn't that what their role is, to get things done in a big way. People will listen when a request is made on the official paperwork from the Senator that we have elected. Our Senator will give the nod to the right people to have the investigation taken care of, after all, it was voted on and passed at a Town Meeting. So now we will wait, and wait, and wait some more. No action ?? What is wrong ?? This is the same guy the people of our town have donated their hard earned money to, even if it was $20.00 or maybe on a day we felt a little more flush, $50.00. Oh goodness, does that mean we have not donated enough, or gone to enough of his barbecues ?? How come he has abandoned the people who need his help, on a problem bigger than any problem we have had in the past ? I have to remember what we were told by our Senator last fall. No one cares what happened in the past. In other words, our request has fallen on deaf ears, and the political pull we thought we had has evaporated, like the mist on a leaf in the morning sun. Could it be that the political influence from groups like MMWEC, and the political contributions from other politically connected people have pushed our request into the trash bin. Sorry to say, but that is the real truth. The good guy does not win the battle, and the wrong doings will continue, because that is the truth, according to the man you faithfully voted for every year, and donated your hard earned money to. The bad guys do not get punished, and can smile all the way to the bank.
DeleteDown hear on the lower forty where the KJV bible is read on a regular basis and the second commandment still says " thou shall have no false idols" we no that the problem is "the love of money". Things do seem to be getting better in town though.
ReplyDeleteIt is going to take more time than I have on this earth, to correct the financial mess the town is in. Just for the basic things we need, like a place for Town Hall, has to happen soon. We simply can't afford to keep paying rent, more like dumping money down the sewer, so smart people need to use their heads. Our highway has a rough row to hoe, as the roads are a mess. This will only help if we do have a highway after the override election. I was told by a good source, that Ms. Miller's group doesn't want to back the town's override. So just how does she think the schools will open next winter ?? As much as I don't like a tax increase, we need a town government to exist. Granted we have had a bad cast of characters playing with our tax dollars, but we still have to get the train back on the rails. In reality, the best way to do that would be to sell the Light Co. These guys have taken more than they should have, and are not working to benefit the town. As I have said before, this is not your grandfather's light business. Bev.
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