A devastating blow to democracy
New ruling by the Supreme Court is a fatal blow to what was already a beleaguered democracy. What was wrong with our democratic process; mainly the large influence by lobbyists and the special interests of the very wealthy and the corporations have now received a boost by this ruling. We had what amounted to an illusion of a democratic process as it was. We were struggling to make our voices heard as individuals and now this.
I personally don’t care what the Court thinks, it is still impossible for me to accept that a Corporation is tangible, natural, visible, thinking human being. The Corporations are not endowed by the Creator with inalienable rights as dissenting Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg expressed. The majority that opined in favor probably did not think of the devastating consequences such a ruling would have on our society.
There are many irons in the fire right now to try to counteract such a stupid ruling, but the issue here is time. Time is of essence and extremely important. There are legislations coming down the pipes already to force the CEOs of Corporations to appear before any ad that is aired. There is also talk of limiting Corporations by requiring all advertising such as these political ones to be subjected to a stock holder’s vote. There is legislation in the works that would prohibit foreign corporations from taking advantage of this ruling.
In my opinion, one solution that not one legislator has proposed is the one that should give equal time to opposing opinions. We have such a practice already, whenever the President gives a State of the Union Address the opposition gets equal time. We could easily require to have Corporations do the same. By paying for the opposition’s ads it would level the playing field and would enhance freedom of speech rather than curtail it as it now appears to be.
PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/pBMRg0VAKtV/Supreme+Court+Justices+Pose+Group+Photo/3swbdmvZRwn/Sonia+Sotomayor
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