The Problem Of Politics

By on January 22, 2010 in News 5

800px-American_Corporate_Flag.svgAaron Cynic at Diatribe Media:

Yesterday, the Supreme Court handed electoral politics over to corporations, who will undoubtedly spit in the court’s face and sue it for not giving them their right to blatantly buy elections sooner. In a 5-4 decision handed down by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and backed by five Republican presidential appointees, the court ruled that corporations and unions can spend their own treasury funds on broadcast ads or billboards in favor of a particular political candidate or urging the defeat of another. Speaking for the court, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy invoked the idea of corporate personhood, stating “The First Amendment does not permit Congress to make these categorical distinctions based on the corporate identity of the speaker and the content of the political speech.”

Plenty of people have already (thankfully) raised their eyebrows and fists over this and hopefully, that hand wringing will translate into some sort of more meaningful change. However, for the time being, we’re sadly left with even less protections against corporate influence of politics. At present, corporate influence already runs rampant in every hall of government and in every seat of power. It’s almost hard to imagine a day where American politicians would be more beholden to corporate influence, but that day is here.

Read the full text at Diatribe Media

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  • rfw888

    This ruling by the Supreme Court only confirms what any reasonably cynical person has already known for decades… we have the best government that money can buy.

  • whatever2525

    If the people choose a corporate-run ad instead of what you believe are the facts, then it appears to be a flaw in our recognizing the difference between opinion and fact. Everyone is different. No one is perfect. No one can select the perfect candidate to fix everything. A corporation is legally a person. It acts as one mind towards a common goal. Is that a good thing? I don't know. I can't know all of the minds focusing themselves towards that goal and neither can you. But it acts as a democracy within a democracy. The stockholders vote on the candidate best for them and speak all at once rather than one at a time. Alternatively, our other choice is to remove ourselves from the system and society as a whole. Boycott all manufactured goods and electronically produced media. If you have the means, purchase an island that is not ruled by any country and live out your days in freedom, farming your own vegetables, feeding your own livestock, manufacturing your own electricity and lightbulbs, creating your own Broadband connections, training your own surgeons, and ruling over however many people you choose to bring along.

    Cynical paradises bore me. Everyone thinks they know how to fix “it.” We're all of us different. No matter how many infomercials I've seen, none of them have fixed whatever problem they were supposed to have fixed. If you frequent the internet, most of your day is spent in theoretical problems and solutions that are baseless in reality. Everything becomes hearsay. It's information overload without the epiphanies that actually teach you.

    Try to live your life happily. Try to be kind to others. Stop putting up walls against perceived enemies. Because you will be mistaken most of the time. Once I know them, 95% of the people I meet are OK. I bet you're OK too. But all I see is an agenda against corporations as a whole instead of specific corporations.

  • TomDegan

    Are corporations really persons?

    Do corporations think?

    Do corporations grieve when a loved one dies as a result of a lack of adequate health care?

    If a corporation ever committed an unspeakable crime against the American people, could IT be sent to federal prison? (Note the operative word here: “It”)

    Has a corporation ever given its life for its country?

    Has a corporation ever been killed in an accident as the result of a design flaw in the automobile it was driving?

    Has a corporation ever written a novel that inspired millions?

    Has a corporation ever risked its life by climbing a ladder to save a child from a burning house?

    Has a corporation ever won an Oscar? Or an Emmy? Or the Nobel Peace Prize? Or the Pulitzer Prize in Biography?

    Has a corporation ever been shot and killed by someone who was using an illegal and unregistered gun?

    Has a corporation ever paused to reflect upon the simple beauty of an autumn sunset or a brilliant winter moon rising on the horizon?

    If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a noise if there are no corporations there to hear it?

    Should corporations kiss on the first date?

    Our lives – yours and mine – have more worth than any corporation. To say that the Supreme Court made a awful decision on Thursday is an understatement. Not only is it an obscene ruling – it's an insult to our humanity.

    http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com

    Tom Degan
    Goshen, NY

    • whatever2525

      The corporations don't rule your life. While they may be an easy target, you rule your life. The person next door rules his or her life. If you were able to locate a candidate that opposed advertising by corporations, would you donate to his or her campaign? Would you run ads for them?

      Replace every instance of the word corporation with government in your and ask yourself the same questions. Corporations are not an artificial intelligence. They are a conglomeration of like-minded people seeking a single goal. Are they necessarily the right goals? No. But they are directed by human thoughts and fears. Every vote made by the Board of Directors is affected by a number of humans choosing one thing over another.

      The simple fact is that these small-minded individuals have become very good at what they do. The only option to oppose them it to become like them, or to become very good at that thing which opposes them directly. Do you know what that is? The dissemination of information does not directly oppose them because it does not directly affect them. Protests do not directly oppose them because of the high castles they've built for themselves in all parts of the world. Courts can rarely approach them due to the flexible and liquid nature of the legal system and logic as we know it. If you have the time and money, you can argue your way out of almost anything.

      Mass protests against corporations are a bit of a slippery slope. In essence, what you've become is a corporation of protesters to fight the corporation of money-makers. But instead of face to face contact with the constituents of that corporation, you've chosen to create a “mob” for them to defend themselves against. The protest becomes a conglomeration of like-minded people seeking a single goal much like the already established corporations.

      People cannot fight them. Only persons can fight them, individually, daily, on their own. Choose what you buy. Stop investing in those corporations that you disagree with. Educate yourselves with facts, not opinions and for God's sake use your common sense! Not all corporations are bad. Some kind-hearted people run corporations because it's easier to run their business and help their employees through a corporation.

      We need to stop generalizing all of the things we are trying to fight. We should differentiate by either people or system. Because that is where the decisions are made. I've chosen to focus on assisting the people within my own community. But I only have so much time. I work, I sleep, I live. Contrary to popular belief, I enjoy all three and find value in them every day. When corporations restrict one of these three things, I will ignore them and move on. Seriously, it's Fortune 500 trying to keep up with (in this country alone) 280 million other people. Can you keep track of 560,000 other people while living your rich, fatcat lifestyle?

      It is not a question of worth. Ultimately, it is a question of comfort. This is how it's always been. It all boils down to one man choosing the mansion and caviar for himself instead of another. How can we fix the inherent flaw in the system?

  • Anonymous

    The corporations don’t rule your life. While they may be an easy target, you rule your life. The person next door rules his or her life. If you were able to locate a candidate that opposed advertising by corporations, would you donate to his or her campaign? Would you run ads for them?

    Replace every instance of the word corporation with government in your questions and ask yourself the same questions. Corporations are not an artificial intelligence. They are a conglomeration of like-minded people seeking a single goal. Are they necessarily the right goals? No. But they are directed by human thoughts and fears. Every vote made by the Board of Directors is affected by a number of humans choosing one thing over another.

    The simple fact is that these small-minded individuals have become very good at what they do. The only option to oppose them it to become like them, or to become very good at that thing which opposes them directly. Do you know what that is? I don’t. The dissemination of information does not directly oppose them because it does not directly affect them. Protests do not directly oppose them because of the high castles they’ve built for themselves in all parts of the world. Courts can rarely approach them due to the flexible and liquid nature of the legal system and logic as we know it. If you have the time and money, you can argue your way out of almost anything.

    Mass protests against corporations are a bit of a slippery slope. In essence, what you’ve become is a corporation of protesters to fight the corporation of money-makers. But instead of face to face contact with the constituents of that corporation, you’ve chosen to create a “mob” for them to defend themselves against. The protest becomes a conglomeration of like-minded people seeking a single goal much like the already established corporations.

    People cannot fight them. Only persons can fight them, individually, daily, on their own. Choose what you buy. Stop investing in those corporations that you disagree with. Educate yourselves with facts, not opinions and for God’s sake use your common sense! Not all corporations are bad. Some kind-hearted people run corporations because it’s easier to run their business and help their employees through a corporation.

    We need to stop generalizing all of the things we are trying to fight. We should differentiate by either people or system. Because that is where the decisions are made. I’ve chosen to focus on assisting the people within my own community. But I only have so much time. I work, I sleep, I live. Contrary to popular belief, I enjoy all three and find value in them every day. When corporations restrict one of these three things, I will ignore the corporations and move on. Seriously, it’s Fortune 500 trying to keep up with (in this country alone) 280 million other people. Can you keep track of 560,000 other people while living your rich, fatcat lifestyle?

    It is not a question of worth. Ultimately, it is a question of comfort. This is how it’s always been. It all boils down to one man choosing the mansion and caviar for himself instead of another. How can we fix this inherent flaw in the system?