Corporatist democrats - our new abusive mothers

I'm surprised to see all the angst about the fact that there will be little change in America after the elections. With only a handful of exceptions, the huge global corporations hand pick the candidates of both parties. corporatists all. It's time to acknowledge our problem - not deny it.

"I stood before Father in total shock. He didn't even look at me. Somehow, I felt if he could at least turn a corner flap of the paper and search into my eyes, he would know; he would feel my pain, how desparate I was for his help. But, as always, I knew that Mother controlled him like she controlled everything that happened in her house. I think Father and I both knew the code of "the family" - if we don't acknowledge a problem, it simply does not exist."

Dave Pelzer, A child called "it", 1995.

The American experiment in democracy succeeded because the signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged to each other “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” Is that kind of zeal still around? Or are we better described by the old joke – the attorney asked the attractive young woman if she would sleep with him for $1,000,000 and she said yes. He then said: Would you do it for $100? She took great offense – What do you think I am? To which he responded – we’ve already established that, we’re just negotiating price. Most of the Baby Boomers appear to have obtained their price – comfortable homes, many toys, some sort of pension that they feel is adequate and don’t want to risk.

This is the situation that Jefferson also described, “…under the pretence of governing they have divided their nations into two classes, wolves and sheep. …Cherish therefore the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. …If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress, and Assemblies, judges and governors shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions; and experience declares that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the governments of Europe, and to the general prey of the rich on the poor.”

Jefferson was very disappointed in the U.S. Constitution. He was in Paris when it was drafted. He ended up insisting that a Bill of Rights be appended. He drafted a Constitution for the State of Virginia that was not adopted, but it is published. Its emphasis on strict separation of powers, term limits, and very limited compensation for elected officials might make a good starting point for drafting constitutional amendments that would return rule to the people of America.

The 10th amendment in the Bill of Rights reserves things not specifically enumerated in the Constitution to the states and the people. We've not been very vigilent in this respect and the federal government has grown and usurped many local perogatives. For example, over the past 100 years, the number of school boards in the U.S. has declined from nearly 200,000 to less than 15,000 nationwide. The current “federalists” call this “economic consolidation” but this “Federalization” is a great loss to rule of the people, by the people, and for the people. To quote the prophetic words of Thomas Jefferson in 1791: “To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of definition.”