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In the end, all the self-described "progressive" or "liberal" politicians may well not be the saviors of this country. Congress is a place where compromise rules supreme, where integrity often takes a back seat to expedience. Even the best of them are looking over their shoulders to find out what the other guy is saying about them, what sharp blades the corporate media is helping to place in their backs.
The people resoundingly voted for a different direction this last election, but we have gotten a fairly clear message from on high that we will be traveling in whatever direction our President's clearly malfunctioning GPS device points us in. The best thing we can hope for in the next few years is that the actual progressives in Congress become an anchor to slow the beast down before it mows down another several million innocent people.
We have been led down a primrose path lined with venomous thorns, from which a retreat seems not only impossible, but fraught with peril we can barely imagine. John McCain says that if we leave Iraq undone, those we are fighting there will simply follow us home. It is apparent, however, that few people with a national voice is willing to point at those ultimately responsible for the position we now find ourselves in.
If not for the internet, we would be drowning in even more blood and exploded flesh than we are today. Our national identity would be stained by even more black-hearted deeds and the ignorant posturing of know-nothing, see-nothing, pundits. If not for the internet, other lands would never know how much some of us despise what is being done in our name and we would probably never have taken Congress this last election.
But make no mistake. Our Democratic senators and representatives will bear close scrutiny, for we all know that some of them are FAR more likely to vote for the interests of the oligarchs than the American people or the world at large.
The stakes of this bloodless civil war are far beyond the scope of any conflict that has touched the American people since we wrested ourselves from the control of mad King George and the influence of the British captains of industry in the late 18th century. Not only the future of our country and the well-being of our children and grandchildren are at stake, but the future of the human race as a whole.
A person is born of woman, a combination of the genetic traits of both parents. A person may be male or female, of any nationality, healthy or disabled, born into any family background. A person starts unable to focus its eyes, unable to even hold its own head up. It must sit up before it can crawl, crawl before it can walk, and walk before it can run. Or it may not be able to do many of these things, if it is born with some physical infirmity that makes it impossible. It breaths, and eats, and eliminates waste.
A person learns, adapts, and grows, observing the things around it and learning from these observations at an astounding rate. It learns to speak, its first words often being "mama" or "dada."
It celebrates birthdays and grows older in the eyes of the law. It goes to school, and learns how to read, to write, to work mathematics. It learns the history of its culture, and makes friends, and slowly evolves as a human being as it grows.
It grows to adulthood, falls in love, and loses love. It makes mistakes and pays for those mistakes. It learns the value of work, and the value of money. (hopefully).
It marries, if it's allowed to marry the person it loves that much, and may have a child of its own.
A person is born with the right to speak its mind, to follow the spiritual path dictated by its conscience, to defend itself against aggression. A person is mortal, and, as it grows older, grasps the meaning of this mortality. Someday it will fade from the earth, leaving only the memories of its life for others to cling to.
A corporation is formed for the sole purpose of making money. It does not breathe, though it may consume and produce waste. It does not have a beating heart of its own, and cannot grasp its own mortality or morality. It does not LIVE. It is an artificial construct that does not exist independently of its collective parts. It cannot feel pain, or guilt, though its individual members may feel these things. It cannot die, or be physically harmed. It cannot suffer for its mistakes and it cannot love.
It is NOT a person. It should not have the rights of a person. It is not born, does not learn to speak, does not crawl, walk, or run. It cannot grasp its own mortality because it is not mortal. It does not exist to propagate itself, it exists to maintain its own existence.
Not a person.
Not even close.
Respect REAL people. END CORPORATE PERSONHOOD.
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