Writing can be a chore. As someone who wishes to become better at his craft this is a poor attitude indeed. I believe that it is important to be honest. Deciding what to post is not always easy. I tend to concentrate once a week on my other Dan Kravitz blog. There I have a clear-cut goal of writing objective articles. Here I may write based upon any number of styles and purposes.
There are times I wish to inform the reader. I offer advice or information that hopefully serves some useful purpose. Christine has taught me that people take advice better if it is offered softly. This means that most adults do not like being told what to do. We would rather believe that an idea was ours originally or that we would have thought of it ourselves eventually.
Some of my thoughts seem philosophical in nature. These posts come from some idea that has been bouncing around in the nether-regions of my mind. I see the world through the eyes of an artist. Some might say a poet due to the style of of my musings. This is not my ego talking. There are just some aspects of existence that I ponder and then write about in hopes of developing some level of understanding.
Current events bring out the social-commenter in me. There are some events that occur in which I cannot remain silent. I feel strongly about the subject and hope that I can add something useful to the discussion. Too often the only opinions you hear are so extreme they would be laughable if it were not for the seriousness of the speaker. Divisive issues divide the public but knee-jerk reactions help no one.
Considering everything it is a wonder I write at all. There is so much distraction in my life that I tend to let this blog fall through the cracks. I have to wonder though what the point is after all. What is most useful to most is to read words that are uplifting in nature. We all, from time to time, need to hear kind words that pull back the curtain of sadness. Getting past my own problems makes this task so very difficult.
What I wish to do most is only impossible if I see it as such. I have decided that my whole point in writing, besides honing my craft, will be to offer words that encourage and even offer hope. This will take work. It is not always easy to see the sunny side of life. But doing this will force me to see the positives in my own life despite my personal pain. What I need, what we all need, are positive thoughts that lead to positive outcomes.
I may still comment on day-to-day happenings or post some bits of personal philosophy. No matter what I write about the end result will be that the reader will feel empowered as they see that no situation is hopeless. We may feel that what we experience is new and different but we are far from alone. Much of what humans think and feel can be related to countless others. No one is truly alone in the grand scheme. Sometimes the room just seems too quiet and our own voice may echo back at us. Believe me when I tell you, gentle reader, we are all together in this thing called life.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
To Light The Way
Our path is not always clear. We all go through life trying to attain goals. As we come to so many forks in the road we do our best to make right decisions. The tools at our disposal may be limited. Intellect, instinct and past mistakes all help to guide us to, what we hope will be, the best outcome. Sometimes these things are not enough and we must look toward others to light the way.
Throughout history there have been famous names. These individuals have been recognized for their humanitarian efforts. Although we may be inspired by their stories these are not the people that directly affect us. What they accomplished was on such a grand scale that most of us cannot truly relate. I believe that it is the everyday person that adds value to our lives.
We interact with them everyday. There is the person who hands you something you dropped. On the road we find the good samaritan who will let us into the lane. Others bring even more benefit to our lives. Acquaintances offer us good advice borne from a quick conversation. Even strangers might notice our plight and offer invaluable assistance. My point is that it is the everyman that helps us without us ever realizing it.
I see these human beings as shining lights. They help to illuminate parts of our path as we travel. Some may call them angels but my view is more grounded. There are those whom are special and they are dispersed throughout the world. They are like lanterns whose inner glow helps to stave off the darkness that threatens to engulf us. Bad people make bad things happen. Life has always been, in some basic sense, about the struggles we face daily. This is why I am thankful for these bright spots we encounter when we most need them.
Throughout history there have been famous names. These individuals have been recognized for their humanitarian efforts. Although we may be inspired by their stories these are not the people that directly affect us. What they accomplished was on such a grand scale that most of us cannot truly relate. I believe that it is the everyday person that adds value to our lives.
We interact with them everyday. There is the person who hands you something you dropped. On the road we find the good samaritan who will let us into the lane. Others bring even more benefit to our lives. Acquaintances offer us good advice borne from a quick conversation. Even strangers might notice our plight and offer invaluable assistance. My point is that it is the everyman that helps us without us ever realizing it.
I see these human beings as shining lights. They help to illuminate parts of our path as we travel. Some may call them angels but my view is more grounded. There are those whom are special and they are dispersed throughout the world. They are like lanterns whose inner glow helps to stave off the darkness that threatens to engulf us. Bad people make bad things happen. Life has always been, in some basic sense, about the struggles we face daily. This is why I am thankful for these bright spots we encounter when we most need them.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Choice
We are spoiled for choice. Cable companies offer hundreds of channels. Grocery stores contain thousands of products. Auto makers provide every car for every budget. We may feel that we have little time to choose but many decisions must be made on a daily basis. Recent articles I have read decry the fact that very few conglomerates create the majority of the products available in the retail market. They argue that so much of what could be manufactured is not and that we, the American public, suffer because of it. I think that life is hard enough with all the choices we have already.
I have no doubt that although many brands exist they are ultimately owned by a small handful of global companies. This is the nature of capitalism and I do not see the problem. Survival of the fittest is true whether we are talking about the jungle or the boardroom. And frankly there is not much of a difference between the two. In the long run I cannot see how the consumer is being denied anything. Take any category of retail spending and the options that exist are so many that even warehouse style stores cannot possibly carry them all.
Grocery stores may not have the exact brand you like but for every product there is always variety. Bookstores concentrate on what sells but if you look closely you will see tens of thousands of titles in a myriad of categories. As if the hundreds of channels on television were not enough we can now watch hundreds of shows on demand as well. Music and movies are the same. Whatever you can imagine can be bought or rented from sources as diverse as the Internet or at kiosks at grocery and drug stores. While it is true that our personal preferences may narrow our choices this does not diminish the panoply of all that we can enjoy if we so desired.
We are one of the richest nations in the world. Manufacturers and purveyors of every form of entertainment cater to almost every whim. If there is a buck to be made there is someone somewhere fulfilling that desire. If a niche is already being served there is an entrepreneur somewhere creating a new one. We are not lacking for choice. I still walk into large stores and feel my head spin as I take in the scene before me. We have more than our budgets or schedules will allow. If anything I wish that companies would produce a bit less and simplify the process a bit more.
I have no doubt that although many brands exist they are ultimately owned by a small handful of global companies. This is the nature of capitalism and I do not see the problem. Survival of the fittest is true whether we are talking about the jungle or the boardroom. And frankly there is not much of a difference between the two. In the long run I cannot see how the consumer is being denied anything. Take any category of retail spending and the options that exist are so many that even warehouse style stores cannot possibly carry them all.
Grocery stores may not have the exact brand you like but for every product there is always variety. Bookstores concentrate on what sells but if you look closely you will see tens of thousands of titles in a myriad of categories. As if the hundreds of channels on television were not enough we can now watch hundreds of shows on demand as well. Music and movies are the same. Whatever you can imagine can be bought or rented from sources as diverse as the Internet or at kiosks at grocery and drug stores. While it is true that our personal preferences may narrow our choices this does not diminish the panoply of all that we can enjoy if we so desired.
We are one of the richest nations in the world. Manufacturers and purveyors of every form of entertainment cater to almost every whim. If there is a buck to be made there is someone somewhere fulfilling that desire. If a niche is already being served there is an entrepreneur somewhere creating a new one. We are not lacking for choice. I still walk into large stores and feel my head spin as I take in the scene before me. We have more than our budgets or schedules will allow. If anything I wish that companies would produce a bit less and simplify the process a bit more.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Indian Death
The majority of Indians live in poverty. Many are employed in industries I mentioned in the previous post. There are two areas in particular, farming and waste management, that provide jobs yet involve great sickness and death. When one is poor, and has a family to support, any means of earning money is preferable to starvation. Why worry about tomorrow when today is by no means a sure thing?
Farming is one of the oldest professions. Feeding a family or a village is seen, not only as a noble pursuit, but also as integral to a society. In India, like in almost anywhere else in the world, farming has been taken over by large corporations. Agribusiness, as it is called, is a multi-billion dollar enterprise dominated by just a few corporate behemoths.
Most farmers in India have a small plot of land to cultivate, seed and grow crops. They usually only grow enough to feed their families and sell in local markets. The money earned helps to feed, clothe and send their children to school. As with any crop grown one must start with seed. It is the seed that is at the heart of the problem.
The agronomist knows that the only seed that is guaranteed to grow is that which has been genetically modified to do so. This seed does not come cheap. The subsistence farmer has already taken a loan out just to buy necessary farm implements such as a tractor. The seed, expensive as it is, must be purchased anew each season. Food grown from it will not produce viable seeds that can be replanted. Hence the need for a new supply each year.
As the seeds have been modified so too has the fertilizer. This must be purchased every year from local distributors. This is the method corporations use to ensure steady profits year after year. Their seed, their chemicals, their way. It does not take much to figure out that many poor farmers, caught up in this cycle of greed, are doomed to fail. Too often not enough money is earned to pay for the loan and the bank comes to repossess whatever that loan money paid for in the first place.
An alarming trend has developed because of this all too common scenario. Indian farmers, in their shame and disgrace, have committed suicide en masse. Some have ingested the fertilizer they could scarcely afford. Others have been found by their wives hanging from trees. Tens of thousands have taken their own lives since the 1990s when statistics began to be tabulated.
Some of these farmers grew foodstuffs, some farmed cotton for clothing, while others raised corn for use in mass-production. No matter what the crop was the farmer became caught in a genetically modified trap that they could never escape from. This is but one example of how enormous corporate profits have been made on the backs, and even on the graves, of those least able to fight back.
There is one other method that Indians use to eke out a living that causes death. Their demise does not come swiftly. It is a slow and painful process. It is one that makes suicide seem infinitely more humane. Much of the waste materials that we, the American people create, is hauled by boat to India to be sorted, processed and reused. Our trash ends up in giant heaps that poison the landscape as much as the populace.
Castoff computers are a good example of the types of trash Indians manage. Dismantling takes place in order to procure the trace minerals that can be smelted and resold. The danger lies in the method used. Large fires are set in order to burn off the plastic casings. Poisonous clouds fill the air as mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead are inhaled by the scavengers. It does not take a rocket scientist to imagine all of the painful lingering diseases these workers contract. Whether death comes fast or slow it will inevitably arrive.
This is how poor many of these people are. They are so poor in fact that they must risk their health and well-being just for the chance that our trash might make them a few dollars. This is sad and this is sickening. I do not normally subscribe to the belief that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In this case though this saying seems less than trite.
Admittedly India is not the only country with these problems. There are more than a few nations which see large migrations of poor from the countrysides travel to the inner cities looking for greater opportunities. As these latest posts have shown India is by no means lacking the will to survive. The chances the poor have there to prosper are varied. It is the quality and sustainability of these chances that must begin to improve.
Farming is one of the oldest professions. Feeding a family or a village is seen, not only as a noble pursuit, but also as integral to a society. In India, like in almost anywhere else in the world, farming has been taken over by large corporations. Agribusiness, as it is called, is a multi-billion dollar enterprise dominated by just a few corporate behemoths.
Most farmers in India have a small plot of land to cultivate, seed and grow crops. They usually only grow enough to feed their families and sell in local markets. The money earned helps to feed, clothe and send their children to school. As with any crop grown one must start with seed. It is the seed that is at the heart of the problem.
The agronomist knows that the only seed that is guaranteed to grow is that which has been genetically modified to do so. This seed does not come cheap. The subsistence farmer has already taken a loan out just to buy necessary farm implements such as a tractor. The seed, expensive as it is, must be purchased anew each season. Food grown from it will not produce viable seeds that can be replanted. Hence the need for a new supply each year.
As the seeds have been modified so too has the fertilizer. This must be purchased every year from local distributors. This is the method corporations use to ensure steady profits year after year. Their seed, their chemicals, their way. It does not take much to figure out that many poor farmers, caught up in this cycle of greed, are doomed to fail. Too often not enough money is earned to pay for the loan and the bank comes to repossess whatever that loan money paid for in the first place.
An alarming trend has developed because of this all too common scenario. Indian farmers, in their shame and disgrace, have committed suicide en masse. Some have ingested the fertilizer they could scarcely afford. Others have been found by their wives hanging from trees. Tens of thousands have taken their own lives since the 1990s when statistics began to be tabulated.
Some of these farmers grew foodstuffs, some farmed cotton for clothing, while others raised corn for use in mass-production. No matter what the crop was the farmer became caught in a genetically modified trap that they could never escape from. This is but one example of how enormous corporate profits have been made on the backs, and even on the graves, of those least able to fight back.
There is one other method that Indians use to eke out a living that causes death. Their demise does not come swiftly. It is a slow and painful process. It is one that makes suicide seem infinitely more humane. Much of the waste materials that we, the American people create, is hauled by boat to India to be sorted, processed and reused. Our trash ends up in giant heaps that poison the landscape as much as the populace.
Castoff computers are a good example of the types of trash Indians manage. Dismantling takes place in order to procure the trace minerals that can be smelted and resold. The danger lies in the method used. Large fires are set in order to burn off the plastic casings. Poisonous clouds fill the air as mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead are inhaled by the scavengers. It does not take a rocket scientist to imagine all of the painful lingering diseases these workers contract. Whether death comes fast or slow it will inevitably arrive.
This is how poor many of these people are. They are so poor in fact that they must risk their health and well-being just for the chance that our trash might make them a few dollars. This is sad and this is sickening. I do not normally subscribe to the belief that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In this case though this saying seems less than trite.
Admittedly India is not the only country with these problems. There are more than a few nations which see large migrations of poor from the countrysides travel to the inner cities looking for greater opportunities. As these latest posts have shown India is by no means lacking the will to survive. The chances the poor have there to prosper are varied. It is the quality and sustainability of these chances that must begin to improve.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Indian Labor
Outsourcing has become a dirty word. Since the signing of NAFTA there have been countless American jobs sent elsewhere. This may spell doom for our country or be a natural offshoot of globalization. Either way it is here to stay. The whole issue should not be a surprise as many retail products have been made in Asia for decades. What is interesting to note is the range of jobs that have been outsourced to India.
The first place that this outsourcing affects us is at the dinner table. Much of the farming in India is substantive yet not for the benefit of the local populace. Food grown there, in massive quantities, is for either of two purposes. Crops are cultivated for use as food additives, as in the case of corn, or more often for the formulation of bio-fuels. Farmers growing food for local use is rare as the cost of machinery and supplies is more than most families can afford.
As I mentioned there are many products we use that are made in Indian factories. Any place where the labor is cheap and regulation is lax becomes quite attractive to U.S. manufacturers. It is not just goods but services as well that have traveled overseas. Computer technology professionals are as skilled in India as any other developed country. Much of the computer code that is written for companies, large and small, is created by Indian workers. Let us not forget customer service positions. The calls we make to get help for any number of issues are routinely answered by those employed in overseas call centers.
These jobs that are performed by non-U.S. citizens are really no surprise. Anyone who reads a newspaper should be quite familiar with these realities of global capitalism. There are a few other jobs that have been co-opted by our Indian brethren that you may not be familiar with. It is these that concern me the most. When safety and human rights are trumped by those looking to make a quick buck, or save one, alarms should go off in the minds of thinking individuals.
Surgery, regardless for which body part, is an expensive proposition. Even those whom have insurance may spend more out-of-pocket than they can afford. Hospitals in India are more than happy therefore to offer their professional medical services at rates that severely undercut their American counterparts. In some cases the necessary surgery involves replacement of a failing organ. While waiting lists for donors grows ever longer here there are Indian citizens willing to sell their organs for a nominal fee.
What may shock and appall is the booming surrogacy business in India. Women who willingly sign up offer their bodies as incubators for infertile Americans. Couples here whom cannot conceive via natural methods can travel abroad and have their eggs implanted in willing surrogates who get paid upwards of $15,000 U.S. The women there are quarantined in dorm-like rooms for the full gestational period where they are monitored and kept healthy. They receive no visitors and are not allowed to take even one step outside.
I do not know how to feel about these issues. I understand certain fiscal realities dominate the retail landscape. Goods and services will always be offered by whatever country makes it easy and affordable for the business owner. When we talk about human beings and their bodies I get worried. Medical services do not come cheap no matter where one may reside. Placing a figurative price tag on a human body, be it for parts or for the whole, is demeaning. When we are told to value life in all its forms I do not think we are meant to take it literally.
The first place that this outsourcing affects us is at the dinner table. Much of the farming in India is substantive yet not for the benefit of the local populace. Food grown there, in massive quantities, is for either of two purposes. Crops are cultivated for use as food additives, as in the case of corn, or more often for the formulation of bio-fuels. Farmers growing food for local use is rare as the cost of machinery and supplies is more than most families can afford.
As I mentioned there are many products we use that are made in Indian factories. Any place where the labor is cheap and regulation is lax becomes quite attractive to U.S. manufacturers. It is not just goods but services as well that have traveled overseas. Computer technology professionals are as skilled in India as any other developed country. Much of the computer code that is written for companies, large and small, is created by Indian workers. Let us not forget customer service positions. The calls we make to get help for any number of issues are routinely answered by those employed in overseas call centers.
These jobs that are performed by non-U.S. citizens are really no surprise. Anyone who reads a newspaper should be quite familiar with these realities of global capitalism. There are a few other jobs that have been co-opted by our Indian brethren that you may not be familiar with. It is these that concern me the most. When safety and human rights are trumped by those looking to make a quick buck, or save one, alarms should go off in the minds of thinking individuals.
Surgery, regardless for which body part, is an expensive proposition. Even those whom have insurance may spend more out-of-pocket than they can afford. Hospitals in India are more than happy therefore to offer their professional medical services at rates that severely undercut their American counterparts. In some cases the necessary surgery involves replacement of a failing organ. While waiting lists for donors grows ever longer here there are Indian citizens willing to sell their organs for a nominal fee.
What may shock and appall is the booming surrogacy business in India. Women who willingly sign up offer their bodies as incubators for infertile Americans. Couples here whom cannot conceive via natural methods can travel abroad and have their eggs implanted in willing surrogates who get paid upwards of $15,000 U.S. The women there are quarantined in dorm-like rooms for the full gestational period where they are monitored and kept healthy. They receive no visitors and are not allowed to take even one step outside.
I do not know how to feel about these issues. I understand certain fiscal realities dominate the retail landscape. Goods and services will always be offered by whatever country makes it easy and affordable for the business owner. When we talk about human beings and their bodies I get worried. Medical services do not come cheap no matter where one may reside. Placing a figurative price tag on a human body, be it for parts or for the whole, is demeaning. When we are told to value life in all its forms I do not think we are meant to take it literally.
Friday, May 14, 2010
A Few Random Thoughts
Just a reminder to all: My new blog is called Dan Kravitz and contains objective article length posts that I write on a weekly basis.
Over the years I have worked with individuals whom have bragged about how good they were with children. They would exclaim that they just loved kids. What I inevitably discovered was that their temperament and demeanor was not conducive to winning over children's' trust. Fear is no way to get a child to fall in line. Another thing I discovered was that, despite my lack of experience with children, I have gotten a much better response from them whenever we interact. I have never proclaimed myself to be good with kids and I certainly have none of my own. The lesson I discovered is two-fold. Never patronize a child and always speak to them on their level. This philosophy has rarely failed me in my efforts to connect with anyone underage.
People protest en masse, all over the world, for any type of perceived injustice. Some feel that it is their job to incite violence or to instigate mass looting of innocent business owners' stores. Most peaceful protesters simply stand around with like-minded people and hold up signs with pithy slogans. I have to wonder though how much their efforts help their cause or whether they ever intended change in the first place. The more likely motivation for many of these soap box standers is nothing more than fulfilling their innate need for self-satisfaction. They stand there with smug affects, attitudes of superiority and a goal of nothing more than a display of self-righteousness. Their egos rather than selflessness is what brings so many together in the first place.
I have never tried to hide the fact that I have seen various types of therapists over the years. There have been many so-called "professionals" whose job has been to label my issues and guide me to a workable solution. In reality very few were able to be of any assistance whatsoever. The few that did help me were the ones who took the time to get to know me as a person and deal with me on that basis rather than as a walking diagnosis. Two statements seemed to reoccur with alarming frequency during my various counseling sessions. It was as if all of these people attended the same school of pseudo-psychology.
The first bit of advice offered was that I must get rid of my baggage. They were not referring to my fabulous set of leather luggage made by Samsonite with a retail price of... but I digress. I must have been channeling Bob Barker for a moment. No they were talking about my baggage as in emotional. Some actually used the term baggage, some mentioned luggage while other less articulate individuals simply called it my "shit." No one could see it but they were damn sure I took it everywhere with me. Their solution to this carry-on problem? They had none. But they assured me that if they had a magic wand they would surely wave it over me and make everything alright. Unfortunately for me they just as quickly disabused me of the notion of their therapeutic wand and destroyed the equally imaginary faith I had in their abilities.
Over the years I have worked with individuals whom have bragged about how good they were with children. They would exclaim that they just loved kids. What I inevitably discovered was that their temperament and demeanor was not conducive to winning over children's' trust. Fear is no way to get a child to fall in line. Another thing I discovered was that, despite my lack of experience with children, I have gotten a much better response from them whenever we interact. I have never proclaimed myself to be good with kids and I certainly have none of my own. The lesson I discovered is two-fold. Never patronize a child and always speak to them on their level. This philosophy has rarely failed me in my efforts to connect with anyone underage.
People protest en masse, all over the world, for any type of perceived injustice. Some feel that it is their job to incite violence or to instigate mass looting of innocent business owners' stores. Most peaceful protesters simply stand around with like-minded people and hold up signs with pithy slogans. I have to wonder though how much their efforts help their cause or whether they ever intended change in the first place. The more likely motivation for many of these soap box standers is nothing more than fulfilling their innate need for self-satisfaction. They stand there with smug affects, attitudes of superiority and a goal of nothing more than a display of self-righteousness. Their egos rather than selflessness is what brings so many together in the first place.
I have never tried to hide the fact that I have seen various types of therapists over the years. There have been many so-called "professionals" whose job has been to label my issues and guide me to a workable solution. In reality very few were able to be of any assistance whatsoever. The few that did help me were the ones who took the time to get to know me as a person and deal with me on that basis rather than as a walking diagnosis. Two statements seemed to reoccur with alarming frequency during my various counseling sessions. It was as if all of these people attended the same school of pseudo-psychology.
The first bit of advice offered was that I must get rid of my baggage. They were not referring to my fabulous set of leather luggage made by Samsonite with a retail price of... but I digress. I must have been channeling Bob Barker for a moment. No they were talking about my baggage as in emotional. Some actually used the term baggage, some mentioned luggage while other less articulate individuals simply called it my "shit." No one could see it but they were damn sure I took it everywhere with me. Their solution to this carry-on problem? They had none. But they assured me that if they had a magic wand they would surely wave it over me and make everything alright. Unfortunately for me they just as quickly disabused me of the notion of their therapeutic wand and destroyed the equally imaginary faith I had in their abilities.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Supreme Ignorance
A corporation is not a person. It can neither breathe nor can it vote. Common sense tells me this is so. Apparently though the highest court in the land disagrees. According to a recent vote of 5 to 4 a corporate entity has the right to donate large sums of cash to any and all politicians, no matter what office they hold and regardless if they are incumbents or not. This decision by the majority of the nine wise souls in Washington is based upon nothing more than a blind adherence to their political ideology.
I would like to be more optimistic about the judge's motivations but their decision defies all reason in my book. Let me mention the one and only one reason I can see for corporations to be allowed to act as individuals. It is true, of course, that what politicians do may affect, either positively or negatively, corporate profits. This cannot be sufficient cause for the court's ruling. The overwhelming harm that this decision will cause outweighs the one pro argument I mentioned above.
The whole idea behind voting is that each is no more or less important than any other. One person gets one vote. What could be more fair? Even when individuals donate money to various candidates there is a limit to how much and how often. Realistically one citizen cannot sway an election any more than another. The supreme court has radically changed what was, to quote Fox News, a fair and balanced process. Corporate powers may now dip into ever growing war chests to virtually ensure their choices are either elected to or remain in their respective offices.
This goes against everything the founding fathers held sacred. In no way did they intend that just because a company grew so large and employed so many that they would somehow be entitled to a separate set of rights from their own employees. Capitalism is a fine thing which enables much of the higher quality of life we all enjoy. I do not have a problem with any company's growth no matter how large. What I see as so abhorrent is the idea that a company, made up of people, is somehow ascribed rights as if it were a person.
The truth of the matter is that, even when a corporation spends its money, it is only the few at the top who get to decide how it is allocated. It is not as if each employee gets to have a say in the matter. It is quite possible that the people whom a corporation support politically may be detrimental to the very people that helped to create profit in the first place. This is how it has always been. Those at the top of the ladder care about those underneath insofar as they continue to help to keep them at the top. This may seem cynical but I cannot be sanguine toward the issue of more money equals more power. It is from this that inequality is borne.
I truly believe that the majority decision of the court was nothing more than giving the members of the Republican party what they wanted. Little thought was put into the decision as those who put them on the court were appeased. This is political partisanship at its worst. There has been a feeling by many, with various court decisions as evidence, that most of the court's pronouncements are being divided along party lines. It is true that many landmark cases heard by the highest court have helped to right many of society's wrongs. In this case though they have done the opposite by legalizing and legitimizing a new form of inequality.
I would like to be more optimistic about the judge's motivations but their decision defies all reason in my book. Let me mention the one and only one reason I can see for corporations to be allowed to act as individuals. It is true, of course, that what politicians do may affect, either positively or negatively, corporate profits. This cannot be sufficient cause for the court's ruling. The overwhelming harm that this decision will cause outweighs the one pro argument I mentioned above.
The whole idea behind voting is that each is no more or less important than any other. One person gets one vote. What could be more fair? Even when individuals donate money to various candidates there is a limit to how much and how often. Realistically one citizen cannot sway an election any more than another. The supreme court has radically changed what was, to quote Fox News, a fair and balanced process. Corporate powers may now dip into ever growing war chests to virtually ensure their choices are either elected to or remain in their respective offices.
This goes against everything the founding fathers held sacred. In no way did they intend that just because a company grew so large and employed so many that they would somehow be entitled to a separate set of rights from their own employees. Capitalism is a fine thing which enables much of the higher quality of life we all enjoy. I do not have a problem with any company's growth no matter how large. What I see as so abhorrent is the idea that a company, made up of people, is somehow ascribed rights as if it were a person.
The truth of the matter is that, even when a corporation spends its money, it is only the few at the top who get to decide how it is allocated. It is not as if each employee gets to have a say in the matter. It is quite possible that the people whom a corporation support politically may be detrimental to the very people that helped to create profit in the first place. This is how it has always been. Those at the top of the ladder care about those underneath insofar as they continue to help to keep them at the top. This may seem cynical but I cannot be sanguine toward the issue of more money equals more power. It is from this that inequality is borne.
I truly believe that the majority decision of the court was nothing more than giving the members of the Republican party what they wanted. Little thought was put into the decision as those who put them on the court were appeased. This is political partisanship at its worst. There has been a feeling by many, with various court decisions as evidence, that most of the court's pronouncements are being divided along party lines. It is true that many landmark cases heard by the highest court have helped to right many of society's wrongs. In this case though they have done the opposite by legalizing and legitimizing a new form of inequality.
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