Independence for All Americans

I have been wondering of late where it is on the political spectrum that I would feel comfortable? There was a time when I considered myself to be a Democrat. This wasn’t because I believed in the party’s platform; it was because I disagreed with the Republican point of view. The last seven years have reinforced my view of Republicans, but at the same time my fondness for the Democrats has also waned. The truth is that frankly, I don’t see much of a difference between the two; both the Republicans and the Democrats are financed by the same entities.

Who are the people behind the curtain, so to speak? Well, they are basically the same people and organizations that have always ruled in this country (with periodic breaks from time to time). These are the captains of industry and the bankers that back them, and lately, religious groups (that pop-up occasionally). The government claim that the people are behind the government and they are responsible for electing their government is patently untrue. The only thing that the people are responsible for is rubber-stamping the candidates that are selected for us. The two political parties, the Republicans and Democrats, seem to be the only game in town, so to speak. While it is true that this nation has other political parties, in national elections, there are basically only two parties that matter.

There is a trend that is occurring, its cause is probably frustration with the two major political parties, and that trend is that many people are now calling themselves Independent. The failure of the Democrats to initiate any real oversight of the executive branch, the failure to stop the war in Iraq, the collusion between the two parties in Congress and many more examples of political ineptness have caused many Democrats to reevaluate their political affiliation. The Republicans, many of who are embarrassed by the two terms of the Bush/Cheney regime and the scandals that have plagued the GOP, are also double-thinking their political allegiance. The mantra of “Change” that Obama is voicing seems to have struck a nerve with many people.

The problem for Obama is that unless he delivers on his promise of change, his campaign could run into serious problems. Americans are frustrated with the status quo and they are looking towards the Democrats to change the direction of this country. If his support of the FISA Bill is any indication of things to come, it appears that an Obama presidency will be more business as usual in Washington. This early in the race for the presidency has already left many of his supporters shaking their heads, bewildered by his about face on telecom immunity. It appears that a few more turns like that would seriously erode his support from the people left of center.

Changing positions and trying to appeal to the conservative voters that Senator McCain believes he has locked up isn’t all that bold on Obama’s part. The truth of the matter is that the left leaning voters in the United States really have nowhere to go if they don’t support Obama. The alternative, supporting McCain, would be much worse. So again we have the familiar “lesser of two evils” conundrum.

Alas, this is where I find myself. It seems like the stakes in this election are probably higher than any election I can remember, and it appears that we have two candidates that don’t have a clue as to what the real issues are. It’s either they don’t have a clue, or don’t want to address the real issues. I have yet to hear either McCain or Obama address the loss of our civil liberties. The two candidates have yet to comment on our imperialistic foreign policy based on securing the natural resources of other nations. The cost of maintaining our military machine has devalued the dollar and has thrown us into uncharted waters as far as the size of our national debt. They don’t mention that the United States bases its economy on the Military Industrial Complex, and that we have had this country on a war economy since 1940. The candidates also forget to mention that 10% of the wealthiest families in America control 71% of its wealth, leaving the other 90% of our people to divide the other 29% between each other.

The simple facts are that most Americans are not really aware of the real problems we face. The same old issues that are brought up every four years are being discussed now; healthcare, taxes and education. Nothing is really done about these issues and the same things will be brought up again four years from now. Most Americans have no idea that their civil liberties have been confiscated. They seem not to be bothered that the federal government has been eavesdropping on their phone calls and looking into their computers. They are oblivious to the fact that the attacks of 9/11 have not been investigated and that nobody has been charged, or that members of the governments of Japan and Germany and Italy among others have questioned the government’s 9/11 Commission findings. Americans are unaware of many things, mainly because the mainstream media does not report on them.

We have a “soft censorship” in this country. The majority of people that get their information from the major networks and newspapers are unaware that they are only given part of a story. Television is the prime offender when it comes to censorship. This censorship comes not from the government, but from the networks themselves. News that might be contrary to the views of corporate sponsors simply doesn’t air. One only has to sit through a Sunday morning watching the political talk shows to see who these sponsors are. They usually consist of Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, the coal industry, the oil companies and the pharmaceutical industries. These are industries that the owners of the networks have invested in. The conflict between who makes the news and who delivers the news has never been more apparent than it is today. It is no wonder why the majority of Americans don’t always receive the complete story when it comes to news stories. In order to be well informed one must turn to the internet and search out the real stories behind the headlines. Foreign news outlets usually tell us much more than domestic news outlets.

How do we change the situation that we find ourselves in? Well, one must realize that we didn’t get into this predicament overnight and that we won’t get out of it overnight either. The solution is to put people in government that aren’t connected to the military industrial complex. This means electing people that aren’t sponsored by the two major political parties. The only reason that the Democrats and Republicans have a “lock” on the political scene in this country is because we the people gave them that power. Americans have to believe that we can take that power that we ceded to them away. A total boycott on both major political parties is the only way we can break the lock that they have on America. When we get rid of major party politics, we go a long way to breaking the hold of lobbyists and the MIC. Another way is to pass legislation that would rid the networks of corporate interests and allow them to report the news free of corporate influence. The people of this country cannot make well-informed decisions if they are not well-informed; it’s as simple as that!

Another way to get this country back on fiscal track is to diversify the industries that bring work and capital into the US. We cannot rely on arms sales to bolster our export market. We must also broaden trade and start competing with the rest of the world. This “Empire Building” has got to stop. No empire can last. The United States was not founded on dreams of empire. The majority of Americans just want to be free to raise our families and make a decent wage while having the privilege to speak our minds.

This can be a genuine Independence Day. We can declare our independence from the two political parties that have a stranglehold on our republic. The time for party politics has come and gone. Let the party bosses do what they will, if enough people just refuse to be sucked into their corporate web that exists for the enrichment of the wealthiest in America, we can usher in a new golden age. This is one movement that could make a difference for all Americans. The two political parties that now hold all the power have abused that power. Their collusion in Congress to support this administration speaks volumes. The latest incantation of their collusion, the resolutions that give this president the power to put an embargo, an act of war, on Iran has definitely stepped over the line. Declare yourself independent of the two self-serving political parties. Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done. It can.