one person/one vote

Not exactly...

When the U.S. Supreme Court awarded "personhood" to corporations last year, they opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending in elections across the land. Whether this trend will continue to subvert the political process remains to be seen, yet the short-term toll will no doubt affect the electoral process, since approximately $4.2 billion was spent to support specific candidates and issues.

The long-term perversion will quite possibly change our country between the haves and the have-nots and since approximately 1% of the population control nearly 95% of the wealth, I wonder whether voters understand what this will mean to those not inhabiting the upper strata. Historically, this means we in the middle will continue to see our salaries diminish, our spending capabilities will cease to purchase as those controlling the moneybags, move closer to controlling every facet of our lives.

The giant question is: who actually built this country?

Granted, wealth was a factor, but it was the sweat and industry of our ancestors, and those who came as indentured servants and slaves who provided the labor necessary to allow this country to succeed...

I see a time when once again we will be forced to provide for those who have succeeded not because of their contributions to the greater good, but rather because of their unlimited wealth. Should they be rewarded only for being wealthy... for contributing nothing to the greater society? No... but in fact they are rewarded, even as those less fortunate are castigated for the crime of being weath-less (in other words, poor)!

Is this the country we want, and even more important... is this the scenario we desire for our children?

I hope not.

Long after my generation has been relagated to the pages of history, I would hope for better in this land... healthcare for all, not just those with the ability to pay. I would hope that we would welcome any individuals to this land willing to lend the blood, sweat and tears that helped make this country great in the beginning, rather than shunning them for the color of their skin, or the language of their ancestors. If we reject people out of fear, then we have learned nothing from our history.

I know this started out as a commentary on the corporate state, but somehow it all intermingles. It really does come back to one person/one vote. Money should have little influence on the political process, and in order to move forward, we must all insure this does not become the reality.


election map from Washington Post archives