THE PUBLIC'S CHIEF COMPLAINT: NONE OF THEM REPRESENT US!
As the reins of power begin their transfer from the wealthy and powerful to the hands of the rest of us, several thoughts come to mind which focus on the public's frustration with the status quo. Although represented at the federal level by various representatives who purportedly are doing the will of the people, most U.S. citizens now believe that their wishes are being disregarded by Congress and the Supreme Court in favor of the wishes of the wealthy and powerful.
This power transfer has been a gradual process which has steadily stripped the ability of the people to compete on an equal footing with the wealthy and powerful, privileged and economically-protected 1% who have held onto the reins of power for generations. This nation was founded on principles of equality which established a governmental system based on checks and balances, which was to ensure that the federal government could not become the tool of a small minority of selfish individuals and business interests.
Not only have the wishes of the majority of Americans been disregarded, but the rich and powerful 1% who control the Congress and Supreme Court have escaped responsibility for their part in wrecking the world economy. The people of the U.S. are left with nothing but the bills which are the result of financial indiscretions by these same selfish and powerful businesses and individuals. Voices which call for penalties for the individuals responsible and reforms of the system which enabled the collapse have fallen on deaf ears in Congress and the Supreme Court.
Furthermore, these same powerful and selfish cohorts tell the people who elected them that they just don't understand the complexities and subtle nuances of the laws or the economic factors which they govern. We are told that only a small percentage of the privileged wealthy and educated establishment are qualified to determine what is best for the rest of us.
By making the federal government responsible to the states who formed their union and to the people who elected their representatives, our nation's founders sought to protect U.S. citizens from various political factions and self-serving groups interested in maintaining power and wealth at the expense of the majority. What has happened which has so perverted our federal government so that it now answers only to the demands of a small minority of wealthy and powerful individuals?
Populist voices coming from the various groups which comprise the "Occupy Wall Street" movement have focused on various recommendations to change the status quo into a system which is more favorable to the majority rather than to the minority who are in a position of control. Their dissatisfaction is the result of frustration with their elected representatives who have either failed or refused to represent the vast majority of their constituents. So far their voices have been largely ignored by all but the most progressive, as merely the impotent cries of the disenfranchised. The wheels of justice turn slowly!
Mark Overt Skilbred
