Same Old Song And Dance

by Richard Trotsky        

                      

           So next year is the presidential election, and while we may see some different names on both sides of the two party system that we have, do we actually believe that there will be any significant amount of change perpetuated from either group? Candidates have paid significant lip service to the people in the past simply to get elected, only to suffer a bout of amnesia when it came time to keep their word on the promises made. There may have been some form of reform or reforms enacted, but this is simply to appease the public, and not done due to any degree of hardship experienced by anyone.

           Take a moment to ponder this, when was the last time the people of this nation were actually asked our opinion on any form of legislation that was passed in government. I’m 38 and I simply cannot recall of one instance that the opinion of the people was ever taken into account. Yes, there were polls conducted by media organizations, but what about a vote? If this is truly a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people”, then why are the people not being asked what their stance is on matters?

Oh, that’s right, because that only applies in a Direct Democracy, and what we have here has been touted time and time again as a “form” of Democracy. But, which “form” is that. I have never heard of any Democracy where legislation was passed that was overly beneficial to financial institutions and corporations, that gradually altered the percentages for income tax values to disproportionate levels over the course of 60 years to allow the financial elite to amass even more disgustingly large stockpiles of wealth.

     I have never heard of any Democracy in which although the overwhelming majority of the population was not in favor of any conflict, it was still pursued anyhow, nor have I heard of any Democracy that would use fear mongering tactics to lull the population into sacrificing it’s civil liberties. Democracies simply don’t do that, a Democracy by definition according to Merriam-Webster is:

a :  government by the people; especially :  rule of the majority b :  a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

Therefore, although it states in a section of the definition that power is vested in the people and exercised by them indirectly, when was the last time we indirectly exercised our vested power? To be quite honest, I can’t recall a single time. What we have is closer in form to that of a Plutocracy, which, for those who are unfamiliar with that form, is a country(government) or society governed by the wealthy. This is the gradual evolution of our government, we have witnessed it transform over roughly the last 60 years right before our eyes and took no action to stop it.

Why, you may ask. Well that relates back to the lip service paid to the public by politicians come election season, people were lulled by false promises of a better tomorrow and gradually became apathetic. Is there a solution to the dilemma we now face? Indeed there is, however it doesn’t involve the politicians that we see on television. It involves us, the people of this country, the workers that drive the companies and corporations forward. Think of what would happen if the workers of this country established their own government. Workers could assume control of the large corporations, which would be an instant boost to morale in the workforce. Instead of the mega corporations executive staff reaping millions upon millions in annual salaries, that could be redistributed to the workers, with plenty left over to reinvest into the business.

            

     That is just the beginning, only the tip of the iceberg of possibilities that would be available if we made the decisions. Think about that for a moment or two, our voices actually being heard by our government. Hopefully, in my lifetime I will live to see that day, as until then, unfortunately I fear the conditions here will gradually deteriorate as they have slowly been doing.