When all is said and done, when the last vote is counted, what difference will it make to the many critical issues affecting our communities?
Join Ani and Lyn in a conversation about getting on with the substantive and challenging work of social change.
From Ani:
Everytime I hear something about our current state of affairs in the U$, especially anything involving the presidential election, I can't shake the feeling that we are now living in a Jerry Springer inspired reality.
I am astonished at how so much time and attention has been given to the election, while never really discussing actual issues we face as a country and as people on this planet.
And without actually dismantling the system to create real change, how much does the figurehead of the presidency matter? When we had the chance to talk with John Perkins a few months back, he sagely pointed out that no matter who sits in the white house, business as usual continues for the truly powerful... who run the show unseen through their megatrade / corporations with larger profits than the GNP of several nations....
As we see it, the elected officials are pretty much the puppets of unseen hands. Those elected act in the best interest of the powerful, our very broken democracy damned near demands the backing of the super elite / corporate billions before you are considered a viable candidate. No matter who is put in power, the system goes on without serious challenge. And if anyone considers seriously challenging said system, we can find ample examples of their challenges being marginalized and buried by those who have everything to lose... and hey, it's easy for the elite to do so, as they are the captains of mainstream media. The victor writes the history....the ruling elite write up our current story and feed it to us as the 11 o'clock news... the O'Reilly show.....
There are some horrifying issues that stare us in the face, and I'm hard pressed to see how the election of any one person to office is going to fix just about any of them.
What is the next president going to do about the multiple wars in which we are currently engaged?
What will they be doing to prioritize enacting solutions to climate change and the crises presented in “extreme weather events”.
What will they do to end houselessness?
What will they do to restrain corporate power, and to kick corporate lobbyists out of the advisory and legislative process?
What will they do about the school to prison pipeline?
About militarized police who normalize brutality and anti-civilian action?
How about extreme economic disparity and wealth gaps?
If I were a betting woman, I'd wager the answer is--- they aren't going to do a damned thing. Why? Because the presidency is not an omnipotent position. Always look for the puppeteers-- acting in concert, they are the real operators and deciders in our society. Again, the president is little more than a figure head. Honestly, how else could someone of G.W. Bush's intellect manage for 8 years.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/08/04/reaching-beyond-candidates
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/08/18/msf-evacuates-staff-six-hospitals-northern-yemen
So, regardless of the outcome of electoral politics, in a system riddled with corruption and so-called irregularities.... what are you doing to positively impact your community, your country, your world?
- KBOO