My American Democracy Disillusionment

Robert G Stewart                                                                                          31 Jan. 2009





My American Democracy Disillusionment





Do we truly have a representative government? Have large corporations and special interests groups redefined the method of communicating with our representatives? Is it still possible for ordinary, working class citizens to affect change? I think our democratic government should return to the ideal of giving each citizen an equal voice in the country’s affairs.

         Long ago we moved from the “one man, one vote” philosophy to the “pay to say” abomination we now utilize. If this country wants to progress, if this country wants to stop the endless cycle of trillion dollar corporate bailouts, we need to act quickly. Middle class citizens must mobilize and insist on ending the influence that corporate lobbyists have over the nation’s congressmen and senators. Any grade school civics book can tell you how to do it; you can write a letter to your congressmen. But, does that still work? I am not confident that it does.

         When I was young, my second cousin was a Councilman in the City of Philadelphia. I thought it was great that I was related to someone whom people chose to represent them. My family was probably more civically active than the average family. We would go out and get signatures for someone; we displayed an occasional lawn sign, and no one ever missed an election. Once or twice a year we would all watch the results programming on the television - at least until bedtime! My parents felt it was important to expose us to what was going on in government and to try to explain how it impacted us in our daily lives. Never once did I think there was any obstacle to me becoming a councilman when I grew up. I just thought I would run against someone else, and the people would pick the better candidate. That thought process was clearly naive.

         Today I know better. I know that if I want to run for office I better have money, lots of it. Generally, the candidate with more money has a better chance of winning, regardless of which candidate has the better ideas. How do you get that money? Well, that is the interesting part, you do not get it from the folks you will represent. You get your money from the political action committees of special interest groups and businesses. Of course, for that money to keep coming you will need to vote in the best interest of the entity that gives it to you, not in the interest of the people you represent.

         Recently, I experienced this firsthand. I wanted to express to my representatives my feelings on alternative energy. I crafted a letter and received a form letter in return. The form letter mentioned the subject I wrote but did not address any of my points. Later on that very day, I watched CNN and saw three CEOs of auto making companies with a seat in front of Congress. They wanted money. I just wanted my ideas explored and discussed. Why was there a difference in the treatment we each received? Basically, the corporations that those CEOs represent give a lot of money to our representatives, and I do not.

         It is time we, the people, take our government back. The attention of the elected politicians must be turned from the greedy, self serving special interests and back to us. There is only one way folks without money can do this; exercise our right to vote. While you are at it, make sure you vote for someone other than the person currently in office!