To begin with I believe America has become ruled by large corporations and the people in these corporations who believe it is in their own best interest to actually place the interests of the corporation they work for ahead of their own and those of others. These people do not just apply this way of thinking to corporate strategy, but also to how they vote in elections, and how they live their personal and family life. So what should be different? Well I believe:
It is the duty of America’s leaders to protect us with force, but only when necessary, because otherwise our first right – life – is not truly being protected.
It is the duty of America’s leaders to protect the freedom of the least among us, because Americans are only as free as the least free of our countrymen.
It is the duty of America’s leaders to recognize who among us is being forced away from their pursuit of happiness by their circumstances and to unblock that path.
I believe that America’s leadership has failed its citizens for too long; it is time for the individuals in this nation to exert themselves against the failed leadership and call for honest leaders who will stand up for the unalienable Rights that America claimed for itself when its founders stood up to tyranny. Leaders who will stand up against special interest groups which are just another name for overgrown corporations and remind them and America that we are a nation of individuals brought together so that the least among us shall be guaranteed “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
It has been troubling me that America has become ruled by large corporations and the people in these corporations who believe it is in their own best interest to actually place the interests of the corporation they work for ahead of their own and those of others. These people do not just apply this way of thinking to corporate strategy, but also to how they vote in elections, and how they live their personal and family life.
Life, ironically, has become the most controversial of late and the 2004 election was probably decided because of it, and yet I argue that people would disagree less if everyone were given the same set of facts. Of course when the leadership of our government is the very group handing out false information it is difficult for all Americans to have the same facts. I am not going to try to give all the facts I simply want to say that in the Declaration of Independence the right of life was meant to bind Americans together to create a government that would protect us. By going to war in Iraq rather than allowing UN inspectors to finish the job they were well on the way to completing our leadership risked American lives not only by preemptively entering a war that at best was not immediately necessary, but also by losing focus and splitting intelligence and military resources from the group that did attack our nation and by leaving that group out there has left us open for further attacks.
Liberty has been used as a political tool our leadership has wavered frequently sometimes while on the same topic. Our leadership has trumpeted freedom since America was attacked by “enemies of freedom” saying that by continuing to live our lives of liberty we will defeat them, by spreading freedom to enemy nations we will defeat them and yet restraining that very freedom by enacting the Patriot Act in order to fight these “enemies of freedom” (how’s that for irony?) and by pushing to take freedom away from gay people. These two movements have hurt the very least protected groups among us, racial minorities are being targeted by the Patriot Act and the gay community is one of the least accepted groups in America.
The Pursuit of Happiness has been talked about mostly in terms of foreign policy, if it can be called foreign policy when one nation is occupying another and trying to create a new regime in that country that is modeled after its own. In both Afghanistan and Iraq our leadership has talked about creating the possibility for people to pursue goals small and large, whether it be going to school or joining a pop band. But in America it has been ignored by our leadership that while the official poverty threshold, as defined by the federal government, for a family of four is $17,650 many researchers agree that this is artificially low because no administration wants to be the one that raises it and in effect leaves office with a much higher poverty rate and that the national median should actually be $33,511 or about double what it is. This is the way the government determines who gets aid and our leadership is ignoring that many people who live in poverty are not eligible for help and those who are eligible are being assisted to a false level of security. These are the people who are being denied an opportunity to pursue happiness. These people and the minorities and gays who are being targeted by laws limiting their rights are being hindered from pursuing happiness.
America’s leadership has failed its citizens for too long; it is time for the individuals in this nation to exert themselves against the failed leadership and call for honest leaders who will stand up for the unalienable Rights that America claimed for itself when its founders stood up to tyranny. Leaders who will stand up against special interest groups which are just another name for overgrown corporations and remind them and America that we are a nation of individuals brought together so that the least among us shall be guaranteed “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
This is not meant to be a call solely to Democrats or to persuade Republicans. It is my hope to point out that both parties are in the grasp of large corporations and that reforms need to be made to push corporations out of the business of supplying the choices we have for public office. Campaign finance reform would be a major help, because it would allow candidates to speak their mind with only voters to answer to, not that corporations who contribute directly, pay for tv ads, and fundraising parties such as $40M inaugurations and conventions.
However, I believe that in spite of the money thrown around by corporations people who think for themselves and voice their opinion everyday, including but not limited to election day, can make the difference without any systemic change. If individuals, voters, let it be known through votes, letters, contributions, or other means that they are willing to vote for the candidate who is out the protect the unalienable Rights of everyone and not the candidate that seems to favor ones’ own special interests when in fact he only worries about corporate interests, the system would change itself drastically. We could select from a group of candidates who don’t need to worry about raising money from corporations to win, they could get the word out through volunteers and individuals’ contributions.
I know this sounds insane, but if you think about it you might find it a true possibility.
