The Greatest Threat to Our Quality of Life

The Greatest Threat to Our Quality of Life

Every few months I try to write a short piece about what I consider the mother of all threats to the quality of life here in the United States: the 2010 US Supreme Court Decision granting corporations the right to spend unlimited amounts to influence our elections in the direction of their interests.

I hasten to add that there is nothing intrinsically wrong or bad about corporations; in fact, they have served our civilization well for millennia, beginning in ancient Rome, where they enabled the construction of the aqueducts, the roads, and the early university system. But there is something quite wrong with our present-day legal system, in its deeming that these entities (fictitious persons) have the same rights under the First Amendment as real people, thus minimizing the role that “We The People” play in our democracy.

Some day I hope  to express myself as well as Annie Leonard (founder of “The Story of Stuff”).  Her effortless and gracious explanations, coupled with her airtight command of the facts, puts her in a very rare class. Here, with the help of her team of illustrators, she lays bare the problem of corporate personhood – and proposes its solution.

I urge those wishing to get onboard here to check out MoveToAmend.org as well.