Direct Democracy, 2

Tell me, what’s the difference between a ‘campaign contribution’ and a bribe? It’s always been this we and we know it, but the problems with this system of ‘representation’ are becoming more critical now, than ever before.

It needn’t be this way. Please get that! It needn’t be this way. So many of us see the charade of so called ‘representation’ for what it is, but don’t know what to do about it, or think there’s nothing to be done, so we do nothing or drop out, leaving the field to fanatics and idiots. One only has to look at the current crop of Republican presidential candidates to see that. It needn’t be this way.

What would replace the current system? Let’s examine what we’ve got before we answer that. What really, bottom line, is the function of our so called ‘representatives’? Is it to write legislation with the best interests of the majority of the people in their districts in mind? That’s the concept everyone gives lip service to, but is that what they really do? No. What do they really do? They do everything they can to keep their cushy jobs and represent the moneyed interests who can keep them in those jobs. They are just like any other group of employees, doing what their bosses - the people who pay them, want them to do.

In addition to that, they are there as negotiators, brokers and deal makers. Given the current system, that is their only legitimate role, the closest they come to ‘representing’ ‘the people’ in their districts. They do not really write legislation, their staffs and lobbyists do that. They do not study situations comprehensively nor seek ways to create sustainable opportunities for the majority of ‘the people’. They fight fires.

Eyes fixed on the media - which is a player in its own right that doesn’t really try to inform nor educate the population but merely tries to keep it riled up, stressed out, entertained and confused so its sponsors will benefit - our so-called ‘representatives’ address the so-called ‘issue’ of the day – Janet Jackson’s costume malfunction, gays in the military, flag burning, Michael Jackson’s physician, the basketball player’s greed, ball players’ use of steroids, etc. Anything but the really substantive challenges and opportunities like health care, energy and the environment. Anything to keep ‘the people’s’ minds off the really important stuff.

Together, the media and so-called elected ‘representatives’, serve the moneyed interests who own them by providing the fear of Al Qaeda and the bread and circuses that keep us immobilized and unable to find sustainable opportunities for growth and improvement. The status quo is what they serve and who they represent.