Of the People, by the People, for the People: SURE!

It was President Abraham Lincoln who in 1863 articulated the phrase "...government of the people, by the people, for the people." Those words form the cornerstone of our political theology; a true type of governance performed by citizens with the sole intent of fairly representing their constituency, all the while keeping their constituents best interests in mind. While a catchy and politically savvy statement, were those words ever true?

One only needs to look at the daily news reports of the heinous acts committed by politicians in all levels of government. Are we to deduce that today's politicians, regardless of political affiliation, are influenced by one thing; self-interest? Surely you jest! Perhaps after reading Beard's An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, which explores the idea that those penning that profound work did so primarily to secure wealth and power for themselves and those like them, one may conclude that it was in fact a valid contention.

Candidates of the 2008 elections are all touting one thing, change! They are saying that we need to write a new page in the history books, a page in which they themselves promise to bring us change. What is that change exactly? Are they going to be able to shrug off the financial support of the political action committees and that of big business? With the cost of today's political campaigns I think not. Each party and each candidate in all levels of government is to an extent, some more than others, bought by someone else. Whose bidding are they then supposed to do, the average citizen or that of the PAC that purchased them during their candidacy?

I presume that the power base views elections similar to everyday trading on Wall Street. They research the candidates and decide which one has the best shot of winning the office they believe will provide them the most advantage; they then invest heavily in their chosen person. Maybe they even hedge their bets by putting money into both candidates. Regardless, they give money to campaigns that effectively get their chosen candidates elected into very powerful positions.

What are we, the commoners, to do? Can we bring about change to this form of "bought" government and once again make it a "government of the people, by the people, for the people?" Let's start by asking ourselves what we have done to solve this problem. You may say, "Well, I do my research and decide who is right for me. Then I cast my vote on election-day and wait for the results." Good, that is a start. What else have you done to become part of the solution? There are many things aside from casting votes which can bring about change; grassroots efforts for example. Have you thought about organizing a grassroots effort to bring about change to the way campaigns are financed? It seems as though we leave that to our politicians to do. That seems to be a bit of an oxymoron, doesn't it? Have we thought about organizing the masses around a central theme and challenging them to write our leaders demanding legislative action on an issue that we feel detrimental to us or to society as a whole?

If we want change, we can't wait on the politicians to bring that change about. We as citizens have to take a stand and demand that change. While we may not all be able to demand that change in a financial sense, we can demand it electorally; each of our votes still count. If we send the word to our current leaders in a loud and strong manner, by reelecting only those who have listened to our demands, we will have created change. We all must become involved in correcting each and every issue in which we believe the government not to be working in our best interest...even constitutional matters. After all it is supposed to be a "government of the people, by the people, (and) for the people!"