Peace.
Take a close look at the photo above. It has millions of people on the left side of the scale and a single person with money on the right, pun intended. The votes of the millions don't outweigh the single person's money or vote on the right. The title of the photo is American Democracy, and it's very fitting. Wealthy corporate business owners' and/or wealthy Lobbyists' interests outweigh the interests of the many simply based on each person's monetary value. If you have substantial amounts of revenue, then you have a powerful political voice. In this country, these wealthy people constitute less than 10% of population, while influencing over 90% of political outcomes and policies. Doesn't seem fair right?! Indeed, it is in no way a just method of practicing so-called democracy. As FDR puts it, it's more in tune with fascism rather than democracy. The 'one' or the 'ruling group' can be replaced with the word 'wealthy'. I'm not against wealth or the wealthy. It's the method in which it is distributed and used that alarms me. I stand in opposition to the few having the majority of the bounty, while the majority has to fight for the small portion that is left. Wealth can be, and should be distributed equally. This doesn't mean everyone gets the same amount. However, everyone should be allowed equal access to attain wealth. Clearly politicians running for office need money for campaign expenses, and most people can't afford to donate large lump sums of money. On the other hand, funding from the wealthy meets this goal, and in most cases is much easier to obtain by policy makers. By sheer worth, a fundraising carwash will yield significantly less revenue than a dinner where the plates are $50,000 each. Consequently, the wealthy FEW hold power over the MANY (middle-class & poor) because their dollars have a larger influence on the policies that their politicians of choice choose to enact. Most of these wealthy people hold one thing in common, making certain that their wealth stays intact. They take similar steps to preserve and increase their wealth even if their social/political views are different. They tend to be uninterested in sharing their wealth with the masses as well. How can 'We the people' change this disparity in wealth distribution? By peacefully protesting in numerous ways. Take for instance the sanitation strikes in the early twentieth century by NYC workers. The city officials in charge of establishing wages for garbage disposal workers refused to pay them adequately. As a result, they went on strike and conditions became deplorable. Rat and other pest infestations increased enormously, the communicable disease rates skyrocketed and the foul smells within the air were significantly higher than before the strike took place. The lack of sound sanitary standards demanded that the wage makers increased their pay. Not to mention, garbage men were viewed as more necessary than ever. The social prestige of their positions were raised as well. In other words, citizens saw how much they needed the garbage men, even though they were previously marginalized and viewed as unnecessary. Change occurred rapidly! Let us turn to the twenty first century where blue and white collar employees do over 80% of service jobs that are needed to keep America running as a well oiled machine. All of these positions possess symbiotic relationships. For example, if blue collar grounds keepers were to refuse to work, then other industries would consequently suffer. Some may not be able to enter buildings they work within, others may not be able to drive to work due to natural sprawl covering our modes of transportation and roadways. The point here is that no one position is better than any other in terms of need by the few wealthy and middle class/poor masses. I am not a socialist by any means but I do believe that wages and wealth can be distributed evenly/justly. I also firmly believe in peaceful protest as a means to acquire this goal of fair wealth distribution. A united front has much more power than the individual when strikes take place, regardless of income. If one truly seeks to achieve change in this inequitable money driven society, we must begin to unify and hit the wealthy where it hurts, their POCKETS!
Peace.
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