Most of us feel strongly about some issue, such as global warming, or gun rights. As you read this, think about yours. For me, it is our incarceration rate. Prison corporations, through lobbying Congress, keep laws harsh so more people are incarcerated, and for longer terms. Prison corporations do this in order to make money off of us. If we could vote on these laws, we would probably vote to change them. Yet we only get to vote for the people who vote on the laws. And those people, our representatives, get paid massive amounts, legally, by the prison corporations. Who is represented here? It is definitely not the innocents who are right now in prison, or their families.
Now consider your issue, and what Congress is doing, or not doing, about it. Think about what would be necessary to create positive change in this issue. Ask yourself if that positive change is being blocked by others with more money and influence.
If you answered yes, then you may understand why I am joining a cross-partisan movement to fix this corrupt political system: www.represent.us. This movement revolves around a proposal, crafted by a former FEC chairmen, supported by many legislative and constitutional experts, called the Anti-Corruption Act: http://anticorruptionact.org/. It aims to return our government to the kind of democracy we’re supposed to have: one that represents its people. It also serves as model legislation that communities can adopt to change municipal, county, and state governments. Does your issue have a greater chance for positive change in the political climate that this Act would create? I know mine does. And maybe if we all work together on this one problem, we will have a chance to actually be represented in our government on all of our different issues.
Sarah Campbell
Whitefish