Death by a Thousand Small Injuries

The death of our country will be by a thousand small injuries inflicted by the ambitions of politicians for their own shortsighted gains and taking bribes for their votes. These politicians enter politics earning $174,000, but end up bringing home an income in the millions for voting the way special interests instruct them to. Take Senator Joe Manchin, he received $1,004,820 from “Securities & Investment,” $826,403 from “Lawyers/Law Firms,” $24,750 from “Tellurian Inc” and $19,900 “Starkey Hearing Technology.” Senator Krysten Sinema received $2,263,684 from “Retired,” $1,655,535 from “Lawyers/Law Firms,” $55,845 from “Davita Inc.,” and $54,900 from “Crescent Capital Group.” These two bulked at President Biden’s attempts to help the little people. Unfortunately, Manchin and Sinema are just two of the many who have sold their votes to the highest bidder. The citizens take the durability of our country for granted and refuse to vote out or condemn people who sell their votes to the highest bidder and engage in malfeasance. These people with their selfish acts have to be punished to stop them more extreme misbehavior like we witnessed during the Trump administration. If we do not change them, we will be living in an autocracy or worse. I’ve heard some people say that maybe autocracy isn’t such a bad thing. These people are wrong, dangerously wrong. Rome’s republic died because it was allowed to. Its death was not inevitable. It died because people willingly undercut the power of their own country and government, out for power and money for themselves. Think of the Bezos and Zuckerbergs Since the beginning of the pandemic, workers lost $3.7 trillion while billionaires raked in $3.9 trillion. The billionaire class increased worldwide by 493 members, the U.S. has 15 billionaires who saw their wealth increase at the start of the pandemic in March of 2020 from $1.8 trillion to $4.8 trillion in August 2021. How was this possible, If not for greed? Now imagine these superrich, especially those who own social media platforms and “news” stations and publications, who can now buy countries by influencing voters to get their candidates elected, even at the local, state and federal levels. If they succeed, it is on us, the voters—the individuals—who let this happen through our apathy or laziness by accepting and believing the information candidates fed to them third parties, Fox news, OANN (One American News Network), MSNBC (Microsoft National Broadcast Corporation), radio and podcast paid personalities, among others, without questioning why they have the positions they have and how will those candidates they’re pushing impact your life. How we learn about a little history on our country, our unions, our treatment of our people? Are we just lazy, or embarrassed to learn the truth? Once we destroy government then what’s next? Will our freedoms be determined by those who have the biggest guns, who will be the vicious killers of whatever group they target, like Philippines’ President Duterte who has killed drug users, but is said to have left the drug cartels alone. Will you be safer under someone who answers to the highest bidder and willing to do anything to remain in power? Government can be a good thing if we have good laws and all or most all can participate in the process. And the government puts the needs of its citizenry first by enacting good laws, have fair share in wages, healthcare, housing, education, safe water and food, and safety in the work place and home. These are a few things that good government can do for citizens and the taxes paid, and by making decisions that impact not just our citizens by senseless and unnecessary wars, force corporations to pay taxes and pay to use our Commons, which will fund the things to make life better for people. By putting citizens first and curtailing the power of corporations, we can save our planet, slow the rate of climate change and deal with the growing economic inequality. Climate change and inequality go hand-in-hand.