The biggest problem that we have in the United States is this notion that it is just too hard to change the status quo. This is particularly true among the progressive pundits. The idea that the media is controlled by corporate interests and nothing can be done about it is not true. The idea that the major political parties are owned by corporate entities and that can not be changed is not true. These statements are brought up by progressives who are beaten before they begin, progressives that are actually shills for the very same "robber barons" that they rant about without them realizing it. They are in effect telling people that change is hopeless.
There is nothing much in society that can't be changed if the willingness were there. Women's Rights, Civil Rights and our nation itself are some changes that many thought could never be accomplished. The overwhelming view that the Military Industrial Complex, or "Corporacracy" or "Big Business" can never be eliminated from politics and the media is patently false. The corporations are not ruled by one corporate "King". They are an assorted group of players that at times see each other as targets. There is no "secret corporate government" as some Liberal/Progressive groups would have you believe. Corporate ownership of the political arena can be confronted, just as corporate influence in the media can be limited.
The way to do this however, is not to point at the media, throw up your hands and claim that the MSM is corporate driven and will never work in the peoples interests again. Same goes with politics. The first thing that must be done in order to change the situation is to make the public aware. The public's attitude towards corporate control has got to change. Once we point out how corporations manipulate society, and the ramifications of that manipulation, people would not willingly let that happen. Especially if they believed that they were losing money by giving these robber barons their trust. All people that are aware of the issue however, must drive this point home on a consistent basis.
The truth is, unlike Women's Rights and Civil Rights; we can't wait for a long-term movement to take hold. The longer corporate entities control the media and the government, the harder it will be to rid ourselves of it. It has to start now. What we can't do is to throw up our hands and say nothing can be done. If that's the attitude we take than we might as well just give the neocons and the corporatists (which are one and the same) the capitol building and let them make it into a healthspa/boardroom.
The McCain-Feingold bill passed seven years ago is already outdated. The amount of money that the bill provides to candidates doesn't match the money that is offered by PAC's and SIG's. We Americans have to scream for reform and get the Rothschild-like organizations out of our democracy. We can do things like the boycotting of those corporations that give substantial amounts of money to candidates. We can also refuse to vote for the politicians that use more than 25% of PAC-SIG money. We can't expect our legislators to pass resolutions to curb this abuse. That's like asking the Mafia to police itself on using violence or breaking the law. It just won't work. It is human nature not to bite the hand that feeds you. Legislators can tell us that they don't make allowances for the corporations that donate to their campaigns, but lets be realistic here. You and I both know that it isn't true. Even subconsciously it happens.
So where does that leave the American taxpayer that is watching their government being run by the same corporations that employ them and sell them their food and gas and automobiles? When are we going to stop accepting that the individual comes in a distant third behind politicians and corporate interests? It will only happen when we beat these people at their own games. The same citizens that write the corporate ads and run the different departments for these corporations are also citizen/taxpayers. This is why we welcome Hollywood/Media superstars into politics. They give our messages exposure. That's the key to changing the system. We have to change the common citizen's ideas of how government works. We have to use the talent that we have in the progressive movement to fight these inroads into our government by changing the peoples perception of corporate giving. Just as we are slowly unmasking the Neocon's motives, we must do the same with corporate control of our political parties.
If a media campaign such as this is instituted, a few things will happen, We might see a reform movement in the Democratic and Republican parties. I imagine the Democrats would fold first. I could see the Democrats trying to portray themselves as citizen-friendly, as crazy as that sounds it would be an appropriate label. If the political parties don't come around I could see a drift towards the Greens who don't take corporate donations, or another party rising. What we need to do is to get these politicians telephones ringing. They need e-mails and faxes and editorials calling them out on what they have been doing. When Abramoff got popped, that was a perfect time to hit them up on corporate funding, instead all we got was the admonishment that they couldn't have lunch with lobbyists. That the perception the majority of the public has on corporate donations. They imagine a free trip to Europe, or a new car, these are the things that people regard as a lobbyists "tools". If they were to understand that most politicians have most of their campaigns financed by corporate money, they would be up in arms. The MSM won't tell them the reality of the situation. It's up to us to make sure they understand. While trips and money are part of it, those things pale in comparison to campaign donations.
People such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffet might want to donate to a campaign to educate the public. Most campaign reform organizations do work that is only seen by the people that are already interested in reform. The trick is getting the message to people that aren't interested in Campaign Finance Reform. If we could do that with a media campaign, we could solve this problem that has brought us to where we are in our history. You have to agree that where we are at is certainly not where we want to be. Even ads that say "Vote for an American Citizen...Not a Corporation" and "Corporations Aren't People" or "A vote for so&so means corporations can pick your pocket...legally". I'm not an ad guy, but I think you get my drift. Corporations and politicians have gone way over the line. Its time to reel them in, before we don't have the freedom to change the way things are. I don't make this stuff up.
http://liberalpro.blogspot.com
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