This will not be an election year to remember, I’m afraid, unless of course, you relish mean people spitting vitriol through forked tongues. While many millions of Americans are looking for a leader, those coming forth as job seekers do not match the requirements as advertised. One job applicant doesn’t believe in science and would rather lead a theocracy than a democracy, another, already in office, has proved a limited ability to lead, even within his own party, while others stumble about eschewing platitudes on everything except what’s important.
It’s the economy, stupid. Those fabulously wealthy international corporations that spill their products across our mega box store aisles, most labeled “made in China”, are not led by average American taxpayers. In many cases, they aren’t led by Americans at all. The CEO and COO might be American, the but the board of directors would be multi national in most cases.
I don’t hear the president talking about this. Instead, I hear him saying we can put people back to work by creating government projects. I don’t hear any of the republican candidates talking about this, either. It’s a government failure that created the economic melt down, we sure don’t need more government to correct the problem.
Which leads us back to the start of this circle. Where are those that are leaders? In Congress we have politicians that call themselves legislators. What we need are men and women that call themselves representatives. We don’t need more legislation, what we need is more representation. In the Army, the first thing a young officer candidate learns is the phrase “follow me”, and right now, I wouldn’t follow any one of the people wishing to be our next president.
In any thorough investigation, one must follow the money, and in the case of political intrigue, money leads us to the leadership in Congress, state capitals, city halls, and local precincts. The laws that exist at state, local, and national levels for supporting candidates are filled with enough loop holes that the International Space Station could flutter through with little difficulty, and our judicial system has seen to it that those loopholes remain in effect.
For instance: Corporations are looked on the same as an individual. The courts have declared that corporation should have the exact same First Amendment privileges as individuals, so when a candidate recently said, “corporations are people,” he wasn’t far off the target. The election laws are such that a non citizen cannot contribute to a campaign, but a multi national corporation with headquarters in hundreds of cities around the world can.
For instance: How many corporations are tied directly to the coal industry? And how many corporations are tied indirectly? You do the math, and then think other industries, such as nuclear energy, automobile manufacturing, banking, and on and on. With that kind of money behind you, you can say, with a smile, “there is no warming of the atmosphere.” But, like most in congress, you’d be more apt to just ignore the whole mess and talk about religion.
Politicians have been on the take from the time the word was first used, and for many, they are taking legally. That doesn’t make it right, and it’s that point that needs to be changed. President Eisenhower warned us a half century ago about the dangers of a military-industrial cabal, and he just didn’t go quite far enough. The concept of incredibly strong and wealthy international corporations were just coming into view at that time, so while we ignored the warnings of the military-industrial marriage, we also never saw the dangers of international corporations.
We need to take away the opportunity to purchase a vote in congress, in state legislatures, in city hall, county commissions, and local precincts. That’s what a leader would be discussing in this coming election, because that would allow for the small business owner to once again hire needed employees, would necessitate mega corporations to do their business in America, not China, and would bring the economic crisis to a rapid end.
To Lead: To direct, as going before. (Webster’s New World Dictionary) It’s past time for someone to stand up and say, “Follow Me.”
Until next time, read good books and stay regular.
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