The table has been tilted against the average American already, and for quite some time.  I don't think you could approach the average American and ask them why they haven't put an ad out on television or radio or in the papers/magazines and not get an angry or sarcastic response.  Perhaps you might get the blase response of 'Well, I just don't give a shit', but most private individuals I think would put their own two cents forward, if the advertising didn't cost more money than most folks get to see in the average year/half-year of wage earning.

Let's face it; those who have the money and fork it over will get their message broadcast to the audience, excepting of course if their message should run counter to the message of another potential gravy train that the network/station/paper is trying to court for even more money. 

I think it was Johnathan Kim who did the review for 'The Corporation' who said it best, actually: 'If a corporation is to be considered a person, then it is a sociopathic personality type.'  The bottom line, self-interest in preservation and collection of profit, is the only ethical standard for most corporations.  If your local television outlet has to pick and choose between a collective of private citizens who want to convey a message and can afford to pay $6000 for thirty seconds of airtime, versus a corporation willing to throw $15,000 at them for the same amount of airtime to provide their message, who is going to win out?  After all, most of those media outlets are themselves owned by corporations or companies whose primary motivation is the protection of the bottom line.

There is one way I can think of to clearly get a point home to the political strawmen who serve the interests of the lobbyists and corporations- stop buying from the heaviest-handed providers.  If you belong to a union and your particular health insurance provider has their hand in the pockets of the politicians deeper than you care for, hold a vote to switch insurance carriers.  Everybody needs coverage, so you can't outright boycott that particular industry.

But there's dozens of other companies whose products and/or services you don't need or don't need to utilize.  Organize a run on your local branch of Bank of America or Citibank.  Hold out as long as possible on shopping at Walmart.  Tell the cocky associates on the floor at American Eagle they can suck it because you're going to find a much more comfortable sweater at Goodwill for a bucketload less money. 

Have a couple of shares in the market?  Threaten to dump them for a fraction of their value.  Get enough people to level that threat, and people in the exchange will take note and either generate their own panic, or they'll snatch at what you're selling and have to record the low, low cost of the purchase for everybody to see.  Especially if the shares you hold have ties to a company that helps fill the politicians' pockets with lobbyist dollars.

There's plenty of ways to get the point home, but the problem still remains thus; if the little guy like you or I is drowned out, not given the chance to expound upon and spread these ideas, how then do we collectively build the strength required to have such actions cause any ripple?

And for that, I have no answer.

by Byronofsidius on 02/10/2010 11:51:36 AM EST