We know from history that the oligarchs will not be happy until they restrict the franchise to such a small portion of the American population, that our elections are meaningless. We know that today's oligarchs are the spiritual descendants of the Council of Four Hundred Tyrants and the Council of Thirty Tyrants that ruled Athens in 411 and 404 B.C.E. respectively. We know that the middle class has always scared the oligarchs to death, because we will not permit them to steal from the U.S. Treasury, or involve us in wars to protect their interests, rather than those of the United States, without spending time in jail when we catch them. We are sometimes slow in recognizing their perfidy, but sooner or later their Vietnams , Watergates , Iran-Contras, Savings and Loan scandal, and Iraq Wars, catch up with them. We the People are at the end of our patience; forgive and forget is a thing of the past.
"Fiat justitia, et ruat caelum! ( Let justice be done, though the heavens may fall!)"--Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesonius, father-in-law of Julius Caesar.
This newest generation of Americans are tired of permitting the pardoning of a Caspar Weinberger, or the commutation of a "Scooter" Libby, without an allocution to the charges, whether they have been convicted or not. Nor should an Oliver North have his charges dropped after his conviction is overturned because it is convenient. This generation recognizes these actions for what they are: obstruction of justice. The rules must change so that the wealthy and influential are no longer given an advantage by their friends and acquaintances in America's courts. They have to change if our Constitution is to survive.
My generation--the Baby Boomers--grew tired; we hit thirty and most of us ran out of energy, or got busy trying to raise a family on a shrinking percentage of the nation's income and wealth. Unlike our parent's generation, mom and dad both had to work to make ends meet: making it to our children's little league baseball and soccer practices and games were pretty much the limit of our energy. (For a more in depth look at this see my November 22, 2011 OpEdNews article "Apology .")
And some of us sold out, became the thing we once said we hated most: exploiters of our fellow human beings.
Thank God for this new generation: they have proven Thomas Jefferson prescient once again:
"[Our] object is to secure self-government by the republicanism of our constitution, as well as by the spirit of the people; I am not among those who fear the people. They and not the rich are our dependence for continued freedom."--Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval, 1816. The Complete Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Memorial Edition; volume 15: page 39; 1904. Emphasis added.
Justice Marshall continues his dissent:
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
