It seems to me that greed driven capitalism is inherently and fundamentally antithetical to the ideals espoused in our constitution. Our country was founded upon the ideal that "all men are created equal": Meaning, of course, that we each have an equal voice in our governance. However, wealth perverts that ideal. The enormous economic power that our large corporations (and some individuals) wield readily translates into political power...especially in an era when political dialogue has sunk to the level of the 30-second sound bite/political attack ad.
Rather than looking for ways to make our society more egalitarian and to make this country a place where all citizens enjoy both political and economic freedom, the culture of greed has become pervasive. "I've got mine (or "I want mine") and to hell with the rest of you" has become our guiding ethos. That is partly the reason we have become xenophobic about our borders. Where we once welcomed immigrants to our shores, we now, selfishly, demand that our borders sprout walls to keep the rest of the world out. In fact, rather than spend the money those walls would cost to improve the lives of the poor of the world (so maybe they wouldn't want to emigrate to the golden shores of the United States), we selfishly think only of preserving our good fortune. I think part of this is an innate understanding that the pie is finite, and, if we share it with others, that will ultimately mean less for ourselves. Like I said, our ethos is now driven by greed and selfishness.
And even in our own country, the divide between the "haves" and "have nots" segments of our citizens is growing daily. The middle class, the skilled workers, the clerical and retail trades people are being squeezed like never before. Corporate employees in the high five figure and up pay ranges do their damnedest to squeeze more and more out of those in the lower pay ranges so that their salaries and benefits can become larger and larger. When corporate income does not meet expectations, it is not the upper levels who suffer--no, it is those at the bottom of the pay scale. The mantra from the executive offices is "cut the hours of the guys at the bottom first." It is wrong, but it is also the natural outcome when one has bought into the "gimme mine" mindset.
The great strength of the United States over most of its history has been the size and strength of the middle class. It is the middle class which has provided both the economic and political stability of this country. That middle class is now in danger of becoming...impotent. As economic and political power migrates to the wealthy individuals and corporations, the ability of the middle class to ameliorate the damage being done to our country evaporates. As the poor multiply, the society becomes more and more unstable. We are, in fact, sowing the seeds of our own destruction. It is time we, as a country, started to once again engage in substantive political debate and stop letting ourselves be lead by the noses by the spin merchants. It is, in fact, time for your wake-up call, America...
