November 19, 2006 at 08:32:09

Some Rights Just Have to be Surrendered

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By Michael Bonanno (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Michael Bonanno - Writer

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." � Benjamin Franklin

Well, maybe.

I'm as liberal, progressive, socialist, leftist, pinko, commie as they come.

However, I'm saying that we need to give up some freedoms to protect our basic freedoms. I know, I know, you've never read anything so Orwellian in your life.

Let me try to explain.

When the wealthiest people are the only people who can afford to run for important national office, you get a bunch of bored people in leadership positions. What could people who have everything possibly want?

More. Yep, that's the only thing that they could possibly want. More power, even more money.

Sure, they can be giving and philanthropic at times. Sometimes they share their excess more with their wealthy friends. It gives them a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. As Bush once implied, not only will the "haves" be helped, but the "have mores" won't be left out.

But, as long as wealthy people are the only people who can afford to run for office, the "barely haves" and the "have nots" will continue to be left out.

So, unfortunately, here are some freedoms that need to be surrendered.

Corporations have to surrender their personhood. After all, if you look at them, you can clearly see that they're not people. I mean, where are the ears, the eyes, the heart? They're definitely missing a heart.

Consequently, stopping them from "contributing" millions of dollars to their favorite political candidates will no longer be a violation of their first amendment rights because they'll no longer have first amendment rights.

People have to surrender their right to announce their candidacy any sooner than six months before an election.

If someone does so or, underhandedly, lets his or her intention "leak out" any sooner than six months before an election, that person will just have to wait for the next election to run for office.

The Electoral College electors will have to surrender their rights to jockey the real numbers around when they report them to Congress because there won't be any Electoral College.

Candidates have to surrender their right to spend an obscene amount of money to support their candidacies.

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Michael Bonanno is an associate editor for OpEdNews.
He is also a published poet, essayist and musician who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Bonanno is a political progressive, not a Democratic Party apologist. He believes it's (more...)

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

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