Buying the Presidency
Some people in the non-USA world view America as a whole as having money as its God.
If the president is the largest power in people’s lives next to God
and if they give him the power of life and death as they believe God has
then what do we make of the fact that George Bush got into power as a result of a record 100 million dollar election campaign, the most expensive in world history…..
100 million dollars
money as God
a president with the power of life and death
its worth thinking about
for the system to be less corrupt
less psychopaths or sociopaths buying their way to having the power of life and death for millions of people (over half a million Iraqis have died since the Iraq war and over half a million before that as a result of sanctions)
then nobody should be able to
buy the presidency
buy the networks
buy the journalists
the courts
There may come a day where any governments stripping citizens of millions for its own election will be a moral crime.
There may come a day where any governments robbing other countries for its own business ventures will smell so bad that no amount of media whitewash can hide the stench.
When that day comes, the world will respectfully look to these changes as an example that even super power governments can get recover from moral illness.
… Donna Williams
http://www.donnawilliams.net
Yikes, $100 million for an election campaign. $100 million would build a new comprehensive school and leave some spare change for textbooks, computers and gym equipment. Or 35,000 copies of Windows Vista Ultimate Edition.
One is not getting their priorities right in a huge way!
I think a good movie would be “Civil War II”. Speculating on the future in the US (I am from the US and have always lived here).
Republicans vs Democrats. Over decades, tensions increase dramatically, and most republicans eventually move to the current republican states (the “red” states, mainly the south and central-plaines states). Some reasons for this change.
Dramatic global climate changes that cause famine, disease, increased sea levels, etc. Republicans care very little, democrats care considerably. Republicans, in line with their fundamental ideas, don’t want to do anything that subjects citizens to having to amend/change how they live their lives … republicanism is about placing minimal demands on people and letting them decide how they want to live, and for republican citizens, this often means big polluting cars and trucks, fast food, factory animal farming, plowing down natural areas crucial to the ecosystems, maximal pollution from factories (it’s the most cost efficient), no recycling, minimal help for those in need (minimal social programs), etc. Democrats in contrast recognize that many people are born into circumstances that make their lives worse off and they deserve to be helped, care of the environment for it’s own sake and for our health, living in polluted cities is not healthy for adults and children, pollution has a global effect, other people in the world matter, fuel efficiency, recycling, better agriculture and better animal use (organics, free range, etc).
The distinction between the two becomes dramatic in light of real devastation from global climate change, and from inter-US pollution being directly tied to great disease in the US. Republicans argue “it’s a loss we’re prepared to take, because the benefits outweigh it.” Democrats argue back.
A situation like the first Civil War arises, with great ideological differences between the two. And now each lives in their own states primarily.
During the gradual transition of people to their states, republicans were subjected to mass violent strikes against company headquarters, republican leaders, their sport utility vehicles, and their people. Democrats were subject to the same.
During the decades of time, two militaries developed, one for the Red and one for the Blue, and two governments, and the US was no longer the US, but rather called the United States of Republicans, and the United States of Democrats — USR, USD.
It didn’t work though. War occurred and millions were killed. Over 5 years. The world economy was devastated. The US became an example of the most horrific political system in history, based on genocide at it’s start (10 milliion Native Americans intentionally killed), based on mass slavery and killing of African Americans, based on profound sexism against women, based on degradation of animals and ecosystems.
England returned to the forefront. Eventually the UN subjugated the USR, and England the the USD took over control of all of the states, with most republicans being killed (over 100 million), and the rest fleeing to other countries, and many willing to change to being democratic.
“moral illness” there is no such thing. unfortunately all there is, i think, is competiton of interests. rasberry ice cream vs strawberry. I like the first! Well I like the second.
There are no “values”. They are only interests, psychological interests. Nothing has value IN IT. Things are only valued.
What is it for something to have value in it? All attempts to answer this in philosophy (which is the discipline that deals with this) are totally incomplete.
Donna,
I am very pleased that you turned a response from my comment on another post, into it’s own post because it is a very important issue.
Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any sign of change at this moment. The good thing that is happening is that now our president will have a much harder time pushing things that are only on a republican agenda because the Congress is controlled by Democrats now.
And yes its true that Americans seem to worship money…………
It’s a world turned upside down.
Mr. Vallentine, you are exactly right in saying at the end of your comment that one does not have one’s priorities right.
It’s a mad, sad world………..
Athena Ivan