If you are among the many Americans convinced that our nation is on the wrong track you probably don’t need me to tell you that our free-market cannibalism is destructive to the planet, de-humanizing to many participants and self-destructive. Reform is difficult. Well-intentioned, well-planned improvements often miscarry. We can ally ourselves with movements but we cannot control results. That’s one reason why political platforms are eyewash. Public awareness of the principle is heard in the saying, “Better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t,” but what is to be done when the devil you know is causing environmental disaster?

Our Declaration of Independence states that “all men are endowed,” but our free-market cannibalism insures that care of healthy, non-productive people is left to private charity. The thrust of our economy is “Don’t work, don’t eat,” while raping the planet to produce junk. The Democratic Party serves the beast by curbing its most self-destructive behaviors, stimulating its growth and giving “Get out of jail free” cards to corporate perps who promise to reform. Reorienting our economy and our policies to be consistent with the values we profess is a worthy challenge for a nation that has lost its moral compass.

We need a Tame the Beast movement dedicated to quashing the legal friction of corporate personhood. Deprived of free speech, corporations can be stopped from promoting products that are harmful (allow production for addicts) such as alcohol and tobacco. The ripple effects of such simple changes will demonstrate how painful readjustments of our economy from hyper-consumption to one built on conservation will be, but the consequences of failure are even more frightening.

Public Citizen is an organization dedicated to fighting corporate abuse by exposing defective products, monitoring regulatory agencies performance and attacking corporate personhood. Please join Public Citizen today.

 

John E. Gibson

Albert Lea