Whose Country?

Interview
Man-on-the-street TV reporter
puts a microphone in a man's face.

What do you think
of the current Administration
and the job it's doing?

This isn't an Administration.
This isn't a government.

It's a Congregation of Bubbas,
who have to make phone calls to cartels
to ask what they ought to do.

This isn't a democracy
anymore than you are a reporter.

How's that for a sexy sound byte?
-- Robert Edwards

Like many of us, I am used to thinking of our country as a democracy or at least as a democratic Republic. As the Constitution says, a government established by and for “We the People.” As Abraham Lincoln described it, a government of by and for the People. Over the last few decades since the 1980s, I have witnessed with trepidation the erosion of citizen representation, and especially since 2001, civil liberties. Much of this is due to the increase of corporate influence. Historically, some of our nations founders and leaders were wary of corporate influence over public policy. Thomas Jefferson stated that he “hoped to crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." Andrew Jackson expressed concern in his 1833 address to Congress asking whether the American people are to govern through their elected representatives or "whether the money and power of a great corporation are to be secretly exerted to influence their judgment and control their decisions." Abe Lincoln, in response to the rise of Robber Barons wrote “As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war.”

And here we are, living in a time when nearly every politician is funded by and beholden to corporate interests. Where lobbyists outnumber elected representatives who themselves often become lobbyists after leaving office. Where powerful business consortia like The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), corporate “think tanks” and fossil fuel, pharmaceutical, insurance and agribusiness giants write legislation and monopolize representation. Where 6 corporation own 90% of our media. Our own once-local paper is a victim of this. We the People are left without representation or legitimate journalism.

The history of rising corporate influence goes back to the rise of the Robber Barons after the Civil War with the convenient misinterpretation of a supreme court ruling in 1881 (Santa Clara County vs southern Pacific Railroad) regarding the 14th Amendment guarantee of the rights of freed slaves. The railroad Company argued that it was a person too, reasoning that just as the Constitution prohibited discrimination on the basis of racial identity, so did it bar discrimination against Southern Pacific on the basis of its corporate identity. The court actually ruled against them but it was misreported setting a dangerous precedent based on a lie. Over the last few decades, especially since the “Citizens United” ruling allowed corporate personhood and money being considered speech, we have seen the expansion of corporate dominance and the growth of secretive superpacs poisoning the electoral process.

Our two major parties are controlled by big business. Prior to the 1980s the GOP was pro-corporate with the Democrats being somewhat more citizen focused, thanks to FDR and the New Deal. With the rise of the present DNC this changed. Writer and political analyst Thomas Frank points to a decision by Democratic Party elites in the 1970s to jettison the New Deal, marginalize labor unions and transform the party to one representing the professional, managerial class rather than blue collar workers. In so doing, the Democratic Party radically changed the way it understood and dealt with social problems. Today, both parties are guided by economic “neoliberalism” marked by undoing public protections that affect corporate profits, privatizing and slashing public programs, increasing wealth disparity with fortunes accruing to a few at the expense of the majority and an overall prioritizing of business interests over the public health and safety. Lincoln's fears have been made manifest.

I recall when the biggest fear voiced by conservatives, usually aimed at distrust of the U.N. and international law, was that our country might be taken over by or become subservient to foreign governments. The reality today is that we have been taken over by unelected and unaccountable corporations which operate globally dictating our laws and foreign policies. Today, 69 of the richest 100 entities on the planet are corporations, not governments, and they exert great influence which affect us all. As sidelined citizens we often feel helpless and afraid for our own futures as we struggle to survive, hold on to our jobs and to what little security we have from day to day. But that isn't enough. Without governments independent of private corporate influence and without the leash of laws which protect public interests and which separate private money influence from public policy, corporate rule doesn't just impoverish. In its constant growth and endless drive for profits at any expense it is consuming our future and literally destroying the world.

We the People have options. Though our electoral system is corrupted and broken our votes can still make a difference. As I've said before, the only things that matter about any candidate are their actual record and who is funding their campaign. If you vote for a candidate backed by Dominion Power, McDonnell Douglas, the NRA, Exxon-Mobil or Aetna, that is who they will represent. If you vote for a crowd-funded candidate who rejects corporate backing, they will most likely represent you. But voting is not enough. We have to be active on the issues that affect us. Each issue has organizations focused on it which we can join or at least support. We can and should write, call or visit our representatives. We can still take our country back from private interests and restore a representative Republic. There are ongoing efforts to do this and you can count on entrenched corrupt politicians and the corporate media to vilify them, as they continue to do in defending corporate power and agendas. That vilification is evidence that a legislative effort, candidate or leader is prioritizing public interests over private agendas. Ultimately, it is up to us to defend our democratic ideals, our freedoms and our future.

Remembering that “Blue Marble” Moment

I have been enjoying the anniversary of the moon landing recently, captivated again by the film footage. I remember watching it happen on TV. What struck me then was the consciousness shift as the moon changed from being a thing to a place. More than the surface antics of people on the moon, I think we were all changed – at least for the moment – by seeing that earthrise from the moon. Even before that, we had seen that fist “selfie” of our small world, a “blue marble” in the endless void of space. For a short time humanity was united in realizing that our small world is all we have.

Sure, we were in Vietnam, we were having serious civil rights struggles with cities ablaze. There were partisan disputes both between parties and within the Democratic party -- remember the bloody 1968 convention? Even so, our politicians were more likely to work together on issues than they are today. Looking back on that time, that moment, and looking at our divided nation today I can only say; Houston, we have a problem.

My father was a veteran of the Korean war. I remember having his military booklet warning of the perceived fear growing from cold war paranoia, that Communists in that conflict would “brainwash” captured soldiers. Whatever brainwashing was perceived as then, it sounded truly frightening. And yet, here we are in a country where as many as a third of us may be brainwashed. How many reading this have lost a friend or family member to the nonsense and divisive hatred pushed by talk radio or FOX TV? How many reading this have seen decent people transformed into raving and increasingly angry, bigoted, paranoid, hyper-nationalist fanatics? I certainly know a few. It didn't start with Trump, though his rise is a product of it and he continues to make it far worse. Over the last month I have increasingly heard libelous threats of violence against perceived “liberals” and even threats of armed insurrection. We should keep in mind that a small percentage of Americans actually own guns but those who do own a lot of them. We also need to be aware that every holocaust in recent history began with scapegoating and libelous attacks in media. These are increasingly dangerous times in our country. This isn't happening in a vacuum.

I've written before about the rise of Roger Ailes and the effort by corporate interests to misinform, to cultivate division, and to tribalize our politics. This continuing reality is destroying not only lives and families but is also rending the social and political fabric of our country. Though the problem has metastasized exponentially over the last decade or so, it didn't happen overnight. In the past there were limits not on what you or I could say, but on what could be said on the air. Our airwaves are public property and there were rules which had to be obeyed for the privilege of using them. Back in the 1930s Father Coughlin was pulled off the air for anti-Semitic incitements. We had a Fairness Doctrine that, while limited and limiting, insured a semblance of balanced views. I know it makes me seem a fossil but, Watching Walter Cronkite on the moon landing anniversary, I remember when we had three channels that we all watched. Much was left out and it was a stilted version of the news but truth got through. The press was not yet embedded. We watched the Vietnam war in all its horrific reality on TV. We heard differing views on all three channels. We witnessed heated discussions but not shouting heads cutting each other off. What was reported had to have some basis in reality and libel was still banned along with those seven vulgar words. Maybe, more importantly, news was not entertainment. It was sacrosanct and not dependent on competitive ratings.

It isn't just TV and radio but computers that increasingly divide us from each other via the internet which serves in many ways to reinforce our chosen views and our social bubbles. Reliance on computers affects everything including our ability to function as a society and to have legitimate elections. It seems obvious that the preponderance of hate, division and outright nonsense passed off as “news” comes from FOX and Sinclair media. This is reflected to a lesser degree by CNN and MSNBC.

So yes, we have a serious problem. This is made more difficult to address because we are bound by a constitution written on animal skin by candlelight in a time before technology. This has left us is incapable of dealing with technological advances in media, or for that matter fire-arms technology, especially given the make up of our courts in the present. There are no easy answers in this essay. I remember back in the 1970s and '80s we had, for better or worse, cult deprogramming aimed at those who were pulled into the Hare Krishna sect and a few others. Can this be done with our seemingly lost friends, neighbors or relatives? Who decides when an intervention is needed? How do we turn off the tap of irresponsible, libelous and misinforming media without infringing on the all-important rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press? How can we get news which is more balanced and informative and less divisive?

I can offer a few suggestions. We can return to the Fairness Doctrine, requiring opposing views to be fairly heard and fact-checked. We can return actual news to a non-partisan, ratings-free category. We can again ban outright libel and hate speech based on race, religion, gender or national culture from the public airwaves. I think it is vital that we break up the media giants which control the slants of what is reported and the narratives that pass for news. Words have power. Democracy does not benefit from corporate media consolidation. Even public radio needs a degree of regional independence. Of course this presupposes leadership not tied to corporate interests which we do not presently have.

Maintenance of a free society is dependent on informed citizens. The corporate media giants are not only feeding us contradictory narratives that keep us divided, they are also losing legitimacy, without which, crippling cynicism grows and anarchy or dictatorship are real possibilities. We owe it to each other and to our country to inform ourselves outside of our comfort zone. Though the internet can be divisive and insulating, it also offers us the opportunity to read different views, to see authentic journalism in places like The Reveal, Intercept, the Guardian, Project Censored, FAIR and The Institute for Public Accuracy. We can read or hear other views and even interact in discussing them. I personally like to read American Conservative as well as TruthOut. We need to be able to listen to each other and rationally discuss issues on which we disagree. Sadly, this is not possible with those addicted to and in thrall to particular sources of information – the brainwashed who, like those with paranoid thought-disorders, see conspiracies everywhere and are unable to disagree without seeing others as an enemy. Again, these people, victimized by a cultivated thought disorder as threatening as any contagion, need our help.

Returning to those Apollo, moonshot images, I was glad to see them not only to reminisce but because I feel we need that now. We will always disagree and that is healthy but disagreements should also remain civil. We need to keep in mind that small blue marble that we are, as tempers and temperatures rise to dangerous levels. We need to remember that we are all we have.