(via KochBlocked.com)
As long as giant corporations and billionaire despots engage in shameless commercialism and faux populism in the name of free speech, we have the right to take them to task for it.
Time was when we at least pretended that America was a level playing field, a place where even those of limited means could make a difference. Then came the 2010 election and Citizens United, and it became clear that greed and self-interest were back in fashion. Money has always had a clear and strong voice in politics, of course, and the oligarchy has never really gone away. Now, though, people like the Koch Brothers have dropped any pretense regarding their intentions. In an effort to create an America that caters to their every whim and desire, the Kochs and people like them are willing to spend whatever is necessary to buy a “democracy” friendly to their interests. In another time, it was “what’s good for GM is good for America.” Now the Koch brothers believe they’re worthy of the same deference and consideration.
The question, of course, lies in what sort of America we want to be…because it’s our choice. Sadly, a majority of the American sheeple seem willing to acquiesce in the creation of a mean-spirited, selfish America in which we’re all left to fend for ourselves. While personal responsibility and initiative are certainly good things, America has always been a place where we’ve been better when we’ve pulled together. The growing “I got mine, you can damned well get your own” sentiment, even among those who don’t have, signals a disturbing trend. We can reverse this trend of course…if we have the will and can recognize the propaganda for the self-serving lies and pureed reality it represents.
Ayn Rand was ultimately revealed to be a charlatan and a hypocrite. I can only hope that at some point, the Koch Brothers will be revealed as being cut from the same cloth.
