The Impossible Dream – a Second Opinion

By Mitch Gurney

December 13, 2011

I am a guest writer at another blog, Keep America at Work, and the other day the blogger of that site posted a commentary The Impossible Dream that inspired me to write the following that I’d like to share with our readers here at the Political Bandit:

I realize that the grip the power elites have over our political system and those of governments around the world appears insurmountable. I feel the frustration that many of us must feel. I salute our fellow patriots in the Occupy Wall Street movement in their gallant stand to put a face on this corruption that has captured Washington.

But ultimately it is the people that have the power and we must never lose sight of that regardless how difficult it might become in the days ahead. In terms of sheer numbers there are far more people that make up the 99% than the 1%.

Our own history demonstrates what only a handful of men who dared to dream the Impossible Dream when they stood up against giant odds to give birth to this republic over 225 years ago:

There were 56 brave souls who signed the Declaration of Independence. There were 39 creative souls who signed the U.S Constitution. There were seven great leaders we honor as our founding fathers who shaped our destiny. Not in what it has become but in how it began. These were leaders that questioned the status quo and who, while mostly English citizens revolted against their king and their country. The odds were greatly stacked against them yet they succeeded and created a system that made is possible for you and I to question authority. It was a system fashioned by design to harbor suspicion over those in power and keep them in check.

These brave souls knew a historical truism about a republic form of government is that they eventually become corrupt. A republic requires constant maintenance and vigilance over those in power and those with powerful influence over those in power. A republic is not well suited for the lazy in that the crafty ones will always figure out loopholes to manipulate government for personal gain.

That our republic is completely corrupt is beyond doubt. The crafty ones have hijacked our republic. No institution and in particular no individual is immune to corruption. Profit, greed, and thirst for power can corrupt any individual and in turn institutions. Our weakest link in our system today is an electoral process run amok by corporate-lobbyist funding. Our government no longer serves the needs of the people:

• Our political system is rigged and controlled by big money and special corporate interest
• We are wasting our time with the current big-corporate, big- political cartels that control Washington and much of the governments around the world.
• It stands to reason that our judicial system is equally corrupt since the Supreme Court justices and numerous other judicial appointees are appointed by these same “elected” Capitol Hill Gangs
• We are wasting our time signing petitions begging the “Capitol Hill Gang” to serve the needs of the people…
• Therefore the “Capitol Hill Gang” must go, nearly every last one of them. I don’t care whether they are Tea Partiers, progressives, conservatives, left, right or whatever damn name we use; if they receive ONE dime from corporate lobbyist, the Koch Brothers, Soros, or the hundreds of other special interest groups they are NOT candidates that represent the people.
• If the corporate owned news media is presenting candidates as viable, they most likely are NOT the people’s candidate.

We are, as Virgil points out in the Impossible Dream, are in need of re-balancing the power structure in Washington. If we truly value the principles established by the founding fathers we at the very least have a responsibility to reclaim the people’s authority over our government.

And how might we begin to reclaim that authority? Occupy Elections. No more polished political rhetoric and empty promises. It’s time elected officials deliver on their words.

This is the choice voters face; we can continue to be hoodwinked by polished rhetoric or pull our head out of the sand. Does policy in this country tilt too far in favor of big business or are we in need of a better balance between what serves the needs of corporations versus those of the people?

If we want real change we need campaign reform and an end to lobbying of congress. But it will be impossible to get legislation such as recently introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders and supported by Rep. Betty Sutton through a congress whose vested interest is in direct conflict with them. We must pack Washington with newly elected officials who will support Mr Sanders and Ms Sutton. This time we must be smart enough to vote nearly every one of them out of office.

Mitch Gurney  LINK