…..Today in Florida we have a newly elected governor who spent $73 million dollars out of his own big pocket in order to buy an election! That’s right—73 mil. I hope he has enough left to buy himself a decent meal; or if not that, a toupee. More money was spent in this election than any other that I can remember. Many candidates had corporate donations to spend on media spots in order to get elected. It appears that in American politics in the 21st Century one cannot get elected if not wealthy. Consequently, I don’t believe we have a Democracy any longer in this nation. Corporate greed is leading us more and more toward a plutocracy. According to Webster, A Democracy 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.
…..Now, anyone reading this must come to the conclusion that the “supreme power” is not vested in the people any longer—it’s invested in the wealthy politicians who will vote for any legislation that does not operate against their financial station and which does not affect the financial interests of the corporations and individuals who contribute to their election funds. Consequently, once more, I believe that we now are governed by a Plutocracy. If only the wealthy can afford to run for public office, are we not more a plutocracy than a democracy? The masses of the American people go to the polls like sheep to vote for candidates they had no opportunity to choose. They were chosen only by the vested interests in the political party to which they belong. Oh, quiet! I know that I don’t know what I’m talking about. It’s all in my imagination.
WHAT is the matter with your countrymen and women? Obama's the best president they've had in half a century, and everyone wants to rubbish him and throw him out. If it were me, I'd just resign, tell the populace they don't deserve me (which is true) and go and keep bees on the South Downs. (If you don't recognise this quotation, it's from the Sherlock Holmes stories.) And I repeat that I think that your Constitution doesn't help - in fact actually hinders - firm and decisive government. I know that it was deliberately devised to spread power about, but I think it went a bit too far in that direction, especially now there are these vast wealthy lobbies that can engineer dissent.
ReplyDeleteI'd forget Webster if I were you. We don't esteem him very much over here in England. Ancient Greek: demos = people, ploutos = rich, krato or krateo = I rule. Couldn't be simpler, and you're spot on with your inferences about rule in the US, and that's without even bringing Webster into the equation! Love, Cuz Ruth
ReplyDeleteBaron is absolutely correct, as usual. The senator-elect from Flah-dah was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. And F. D. Czar and JFK were raised in log cabins. George Soros, the plutocrat, is a big-time conservative who supports the Tea Party.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't believe Lord Acton (power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely), then you will be happier living in some country other than the US.
Firm, decisive government? Where have we heard that before?
Once more we see the wisdom of the Baron. In this blog, his thoughts deserve priority and should be set in stone. If you do not agree with him, keep your thoughts to yourself, at least in this venue.
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