Chris Hedges's latest column at Truthdig argues that "(i)f you want change you can believe in, destroy the system", and he draws on examples from stories he has personally observed over a two decade long career in over fifty countries:
"When I was a foreign correspondent I covered revolts, insurgencies and revolutions, including the guerrilla conflicts in the 1980s in Central America; the civil wars in Algeria, Sudan and Yemen; and the two Palestinian uprisings or intifadas, along with the revolutions in East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Romania and the war in the former Yugoslavia. I have seen that despotic regimes collapse internally."
Chris is also clear about how little US presidential elections matter to those who market ALL the candidates, including Bernie and Lizzy:
"It does not matter to the corporate rich who wins the presidential election. It does not matter who is elected to Congress. The rich have the power. They throw money at their favorites the way a gambler puts cash on his favorite horse.
"Money has replaced the vote.
"The wealthy can crush anyone who does not play by their rules. And the political elites—slobbering over the spoils provided by their corporate masters for selling us out—understand the game. Barack and Michelle Obama, as did the Clintons, will acquire many millions of dollars once they leave the White House."
Chris Hedges Make the Rich Panic - Chris Hedges -Truthdig
Yes, as I have said and preached for many years now, "the wealthy, the powerful, and the influential control politics, policy and legislation". Our government is bought and paid for. What we have is , "taxation without fair, equal, and just representation." Once elected to office, professional politicians exert their will, and not the will of the people. "The Washington Brotherhood" is an entity unto itself, answerable to no one except itself. This has become more pronounced and a realization over the pass 50 plus years. Yet, voters continue to play the game, aid and abet the "sellers" of this once great nation, and honestly believe that they're doing their patriotic duty on election day.
In reality, we, the voters, are to blame for allowing the creation of a self-serving puppet government to sit in Washington. Professional politicians do not just waltz into Washington and take a seat, we place them there with our votes. We give them control, then complain about the direction of this country, and the many social and economic woes that constantly make daily headlines. And while complaining, we never realize that we are the root cause and source of our own frustrations and disappointments. We never learn, but rather we continually do the same thing on election day, yet expect a different result each time.
I'm willing to bet the farm, that come November 2016, voters will once again elect and re-elect professional politicians to serve in government. I'm also willing to bet the farm, that it wont be long after election day, before voters start complaining and blaming one political party or the other. We'll hear Democrats blaming Republicans, and we'll hear Republicans blaming Democrats, the routine never changes. In addition, I'm also willing to bet the farm, that voters will not blame themselves for being stupid enough and gullible enough to continue electing the self-serving egotistical crooks to office. We'll continue to hear the usual lame cop-outs, "I voted for the lesser of two evils", or "I'm not going to waste my vote".
"The Selling of America" has been going on for many decades now, and will continue as long as we, the voters, allow it to happen. As long as we, the voters, aid and abet the "Sellers", we can't expect anything other than what we're seeing and experiencing now, and have seen and experienced for many decades, through both Republican and Democrat administrations. As long as we remain divided along party lines, they win, we lose. The worse fear of professional politicians, and of "The Washington Brotherhood", is a United Citizenry. We can not lay a solid foundation for future generations as long as we play party politics, it's impossible.
