Another July 4th has come and passed. America once again celebrated their liberation from the English crown and the establishment of what many refer to as the greatest nation on earth. Only this year it seems many people are now questioning hard whether that characterization is really accurate. More people are realizing that government at its best is a necessary evil. Abraham Lincoln stated that, “America will never be defeated from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed it ourselves”. I worry about our future and the future of our children.
Recent Supreme Court actions have thrust America into a great debate about the future of personal rights. Gun violence is tearing the country apart and forcing young children to face traumatic and shocking violence every day. Over 300 mass shootings have occurred this year and more than 220 were killed by guns just over the 4th of July weekend. The toll on mental health is destroying our young children. Suicides rates are skyrocketing among college athletes. Years of court precedence is being ripped away by an openly political Supreme Court. Even previously settled questions like abortion, gay rights, contraception and interracial marriage appear to be fair game today. Political responsiveness has disappeared across America as politicians regularly question or dismiss free and fair elections, public debate on major policies and legislations, openness of information regarding major government policies and corruption free government.
America was built on the back of protest and the right to speak openly about your concerns regarding government. However, that was a different America in a different time and all people in America in the late 1700's were not free. The America that was formed on equality and liberty for all was not built for all people. Americans have fought for centuries to make more rights available to all men and women across the nation. Yet today after centuries of progress we face more restrictions on those rights. And it seems the government and its politicians are less responsive to everyday citizens and more to their wealthy donor base. And those wealthy donors are why we are at this place in our history. The citizens of the United States need to understand the only way to combat their seemingly unlimited wealth and influence is with your vote.
The United States of America was founded by men who owned slaves and did not extend equal rights to women, so perhaps it is time to begin realizing that all those documents they wrote 240 plus years ago are not infallible. America has long been run by the extremely wealthy. George Washington was the richest man in America. John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson were all very wealthy men. The wealthy established America and put in place safeguards to protect their assets and to provide for their continued economic and social superiority. The America we created in the 1770's has evolved and may not be the exact same America we need today.
It is important for Americans to understand that it is not the fault of the politicians, the courts, or even political parties for where we are currently as a country today but instead ours, the people of America for failing to rid our politicians of their reliance on the wealthy. The wealthy in America have bought and paid for our political system. As a result, they have broken it for many of us. Politicians are a part of our political system to make you believe that you have freedom of choice in our political process. They are here to convince you that your vote can change the direction our country or state is heading or soften the landing when we eventually get there. The belief that politicians control our country’s future is incorrect.
Politicians are put in place by the extremely wealthy donors who have bought and paid for all of them. The super wealthy in America does not want a well-informed, well-educated population who can perform critical thinking. The battle to limit what is taught in our schools is an effort to influence minds, not increase critical thinking. The wealthy donors in America want an under educated population so that they do not have the ability or desire to realize how bad they are actually getting treated. The wealthy need a population who will follow directions and do as they are told. Vote the way they want them to vote. Employees need to be just smart enough to perform their jobs but dumb enough to accept the increasing number of bad jobs, longer hours, less pay, more responsibility and reduced benefits.
Other issues are impacting America besides just the loss of personal rights and educational freedom. Healthcare is a major issue for many Americans. Medicare for all is a wonderful program in theory. Many Americans believe healthcare is a right for everyone, but our current political reality is not supportive of this. The problem with Medicare is you must wait until you turn 65 to get it. Everyone else under the age of 65 either must hold a job, be covered by a spouse with a job that provides insurance or be wealthy enough to afford healthcare costs in this country. The current system benefits the insurance companies, not the average person who needs the care and coverage. Many people stay in the work force for one reason only, Healthcare. The loss of a job often means the loss of healthcare for an entire family.
The wealthy in America own everything of value in the country. They own the land, the major businesses, the corporations, the media and control the banks. They have through their PACs and dark money bought the senate, the congress, state houses, city halls and judges across the country. The majority of politicians will never vote to remove the dark money from politics because it is too lucrative to those chasing power. Dark money appears to have even entered the Supreme Court. The wealthy own all the large media conglomerates so they can control all the messaging and information you receive every day. The wealhy donors in America spend billions of dollars every year lobbying for what they want. The everyday American does not stand a chance going up against these bottomless money pits to lobby on their own behalf for legislation and policies that positively impact their own families.
The wealthy are part of a nationwide special club, and ordinary citizens are not in it.
The majority of politicians don’t care about you. They never have. They care about their wealthy donors who provide the means for them to continue to stay in powerful positions. Why do you think Congress members spend 75% or more of their time fundraising? Instead of spending their days working for you and addressing your interests, the wealthy donors’ interests will always come first. It is the money they receive from large PACs that keep them in office. If it comes down to helping John and Jane Doe or the wealthy owner, John and Jane Doe loses.
Individuals whose own interests seem contrary to the public at large spend lots of money buying the influence to support their interests. The gun lobby is one major source of funding for candidates. Do you really believe many of the law makers think it was the intention of the forefathers for every American to bear assault rifles? Or is the funding source more important for these politicians than American children’s lives? Thoughts and prayers are offered after every mass shooting but seldom is meaningful gun legislation provided because it would anger the gun lobby. Uvalde, Texas is a great example of the failure of the good guy with a gun logic. Even the current legislation passed by Congress in a reaction to growing outrage in the country is very limited in what it does. Serious gun control proposals will never pass until dark money is taken out of politics.
The wealthy in America knows the truth. Politicians will not go against their major donors’ wishes no matter how bad the choice might be. The wealthy will not support candidates who vote for improved access to education, better media accountability, easier social mobility, or more accountability for politicians and judges. We as a public choose to remain uneducated about real political issues and instead focus on the one or two special issues these politicians throw out to distract you every year from their real efforts. CRT, abortion rights, stolen elections, missing emails are all red flags to distract from what is really happening in the legislatures. Voters consume lies and falsehoods veraciously because we never question the truthfulness of them. In America, a lie unanswered becomes a truth in 24 hours. In times of deceit and dishonesty, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. Speaking truth to power is seen in America as betrayal of your party instead of what it really is, a non-violent political act against the propaganda of government and their donors.
We need to wake up, become better educated on the issues. Accountability is a must for everyone but especially those making decisions impacting your daily life. We need to stop being one issue voters. Stop worrying about issues being right or left and instead whether they are right or wrong. The voters in this country needs to start voting in their own best interests. Teach your children to read and to question everything they read. Don’t let others through their media sources dumb you down. Don't let others feed you the same type of candidates throwing out the same red flags year after year.
Whose fault is it that we keep replacing politicians of poor ethical character, selfish and ignorant with questionable morals with even more politicians just like them? It is ours, the voters in America. We have tremendous power as voters and yet we choose to let others direct the course of action. Get educated and informed on issues impacting your family. Not everyone will agree on all issues but have civil discourse and listen to each other. Seek not the republican, libertarian, or the democratic answer but the correct answer. Stop placing blame for past mistakes and instead find a clear and concise path for our future.
Too many Americans are willing to set this one out in protest. Leaving your vote unused in an uneducated and uninformed way is why we have the situation we are currently facing in America. Loss of freedoms, personal rights, education, work safety and gripping fear are the direct results of political inactivity. Get involved and get informed. As George Carlin stated, “The real American Dream put forth by those wealthy men in the 1770's requires most Americans to be asleep to believe it”. It is time to wake up and vote America so that next July 4th we can all celebrate!