Today, I sent the first mass e-mail of my life. The issue is corporate money in our political system. I won't waste space laying out all the reasons why our political system is sick to the point I wonder if it can fully recover in time to maintain the high economic standard of living enjoyed by American citizens in comparison to that of a significant portion of the rest of the world. Most of you are politically knowledgeable about the corrupting influence of campaign contributions by large organized entities. I firmly believe the first and very necessary step in righting the proverbial ship of state is to eliminate the influence of corporate money on the whole political process.
Here is a copy of the e-mail I just sent to everyone in my contact list:
Hey Guys,
I'm sorry for the spam-like nature of this e-mail. I know I haven't communicated with a lot of you guys in years. It kinda sucks that good people can so easily fall out of one's life. Physical proximity is king kinda thing.
Anyways, onto the substance. Since around the age of 30, one of my main hobbies has been following politics. The more knowledgeable I become, the more disgusted I get. In my educated opinion, our entire system of government is at risk from the corrupting and massive influence of big, corporate money on our elections. While most of you probably know I lean pretty far left on the political spectrum, this is an issue that I believe everyone but the most cynical corporatist could agree on. That's why I'm comfortable sending this out in a mass e-mail.
If you're concerned at all about the direction of our country, I urge you to visit http://www.getmoneyout.com. This is an effort spear-headed by MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan to eliminate the influence of corporate money on our elected officials. I honestly believe that the very first step in fixing our system is to get the money out of the political equation. I could write an entire treatise on the subject. When you start discussing almost any political issue and try to figure out the actions and stances of our elected officials, campaign contributions are front and center. I firmly believe that the influence that this money purchases is deleterious to the interests of 99% of Americans regardless of political ideology. We need to cut out the pay-for-play cancer that is sickening our whole system of government and society and which gives a disproportionate influence to the very few while leaving the rest of us without a significant voice or representation. The fist step is to get the money out of politics.
This is not a form letter. Everything I have written here is my own and from the heart (and mind). Thanks for listening and I promise you won't receive anything like this from me again.
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I know some of you may not be Dylan Ratigan fans, but I've found his pragmatic views to be insightful and often profound. If you're interested, here's a bit he did with the Occupying Wall Street protestors. Additionally, here's the link to the Get the Money Out action site in which he's requesting signatures to promote a constitutional amendment to end corporate money in politics. I would imagine that many of you are already familiar with the effort.
If this has been covered before, I apologize for duplicating efforts....
All the best--
Hounds