Some excellent groups and journalists have been on this track for a while -- see the Do Something box -- but the threat of oligarchy is so real and imminent that we all need to throw in with them and do our bit by making oligarchy v. democracy a regular component of our work and message.
One way we can help is by constantly countering their false narrative and pointing out their Orwellian perversion of language, such as:
We are "self-made." No, you're not. No one succeeds alone. We've all been given boosts by teachers, co-workers, previous generations that fought against fascism and for our Bill of Rights, and a public infrastructure that provides a richness to American life we now mostly take for granted: tap water, highways, an educated workforce, the internet, police protection, etc.
Corporations are "people" money equals "free speech." Golly, wrong again. In fact, though both claims are biologically impossible, they've been given "legal life" by corporate-serving judicial activists installed on federal and state courts in order to undermine real people's political, economic, and social power.
Half of Americans are "moochers" who pay no taxes. That's not just wrong but despicably condescending. While lower-middle-class and poor people are paid so little that they owe no federal income tax, they typically pay a greater percentage of their income in taxes than do millionaires and billionaires. Low-income people are especially hard hit by multiple sales, payroll, property, gasoline, and other taxes and fees.
While John C. Calhoun merely proposed that the property rights of the wealthiest few should trump the political rights of the great majority, the Koch network has actually been installing the operational components of his vision into our nation's governing rules. As MacLean writes, they are extinguishing "the political we."
To confront and help defeat this anti-American stealth scheme by the radical rich minority, the next issue of the Lowdown will provide details on the myriad of groups that are involved in exposing and countering the Koch-directed conspiracy.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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