When I was young, the country was divided. The problem was American imperialism, especially Vietnam.
How did this affect me? Well, my country wanted me to quit my job and run through the rice fields of Vietnam with a gun. why? To fight an enemy for reasons that are not at all clear. (I avoided that, another story.)
It wasn’t a Democratic or Republican issue. It began under Democratic administrations and continued under Republican administrations. For those of us affected by this issue, it didn’t matter which party or individual controlled the White House. It was the US government and the system that was committed to Vietnam.
So what did we do? We protested this issue. war. And eventually they put enough pressure on the government (which happened to be Republican) to end it.
Another major issue was the environment, especially air and water quality. Some cities couldn’t breathe, and Ohio’s rivers famously caught fire. We fought this issue again, and we worked again with the EPA under Republicans to get breathable air again and clean up our rivers.
To me, the biggest problem in our country today is the power that wealth wields. That will not change no matter who wins this election. And this is the root cause of the dissatisfaction that led many to vote for Donald Trump.
Note that the issue of defeating Citizens United received little or no attention from either candidate. Note that the issue of requiring members of Congress to refrain from voting on bills that conflict with donors’ interests received some, but not all, attention from both candidates.
It will probably be three years before the duopoly distracts us again. It’s time to work towards fixing the system. One organization doing this is RepresentUS. They work across the country, fighting the influence of money in politics at all levels and seeking to establish a culture of government that is responsive to people.
I’ll give the money, but they can use all the help they can get to fight for fundamental changes in politics. Once again, beware of the power of wealth, as despite major victories in passing anti-corruption laws in many states, U.S. representatives receive very little, if any, news media coverage.
Check it out at RepresentUS/.
Dennis Merritt
shelburne falls
