Manipulated

Ben Contreras

THIS is an article shared to us by Ralph Abragan. The article that dwells on how a nation can be manipulated to suit the interest of a few, the rich and the powerful that practically control the destiny of every citizen and the nation.

“The system is rigged against regular people” talks of a book “Nation on the take: How big money corrupts our Democracy” written by Wendell Potter and Nick Penniman.

The meat of this book is not something that is not happening in the country. In fact, it is and the majority is either oblivious to it or simply intentional or accepted.

The book is “…a comprehensive and important examination of the many ways our lives are affected by the stranglehold corporation have on our government and society.”

It’s relevance to our forthcoming election cannot be ignored since running for President requires a huge campaign chest that could only come from the industrialists and the oligarchs. To whom a President owes its seat dictates the course the government would take.

Mr. Michael Winship has this to say: It’s a stunning indictment of the corrosive influence of money in politics.

In the introduction of the book, it says: We the people are losing our faith in the dream of democracy as our collective power is increasingly eclipsed by a rigged system of politics and governance dominated by a handful of billionaires and a phalanx of well-financed special interests.

It sounds familiar to everyone, right, a rigged election to favor certain candidates that would serve their interest and their insatiable greed?

Penniman is “Executive Director of Issue One, a bipartisan group working to reduce the influence of money in politics and put everyday citizens back in control of our country.”

The ouster of President Ferdinand E. Marcos has not brought about a change that would put the citizens of the republic in control. It’s still the same old song sang in different tune and different tempo. We are threatened with the same prospect, that if we, the people, will allow it.

Penniman adds: This problem has been metastasizing for more than 30 years in Washington (As it is also in the Philippines). You know the number of lobbyists has gone through the roof. The amount of dark money in the system has gone through the roof. The number of billionaires who are writing bigger checks has gone through the roof. The amounts of time members of Congress spend in fund raising, same thing. Every single index that you could look at that define our problem of money in politics has grown exponentially in the last 30 years. But it’s occurred kind of quietly. Some reporters covered it but they don’t really cover the big picture writ large. It’s no longer just that irksome thing that all Americans hate, right? It has reached the point of stage IV cancer, where it’s shutting down the body politics. It’s shutting down our ability to self-govern.

The clamor for change is made profound by the warms responses by people from all walks of life and all over the country for a certain presidential candidate despite the limitation of his logistics. Yes, volunteers may not be enough to guaranty victory. But it would be unpatriotic for anyone from Mindanao not to give ourselves a chance by choosing one of our own despite of his imperfection.

Given the qualification and notorieties of the others, I believe ours is still the best of all options.