Equal Rights

Let’s look at this issue — equal rights. According to common belief, we’re all supposed to be equal under the law … that nobody gets a “get out of jail free” card just because who they are or what they own. But in practical, everyday terms it just isn’t like that.

If we were all equal in CREATING the law, severe limits would be put on campaign finances. Corporations, PACs and super-PACs would not be allowed ANY influence in elections or lawmaking. Every single dollar spent by wealthy constituencies in influencing voting and lawmaking tips the scales of justice in favor of the wealthy and influential. This strongly biases the laws themselves toward property rights rather than human rights.

If we were all equal when PROSECUTED under the law, everyone would be represented by a public defender! Being wealthy enough to hire a team of lawyers gives wealthy individuals and corporations a distinct advantage over the average citizen. If the law were really blind to who we were and concentrated solely on what we did to get arrested, then everyone should have the same representation in the courts, the same resources to create reasonable doubt, the same advantages and disadvantages in plea bargaining.

So the FACT is that we’re NOT equal under the law. We don’t have equal representation because both parties are controlled by a fairly small group of fairly wealthy individuals. These same individuals ALSO own most of the media and control what we read and what we see on TV and internet browsers.

If a guy in a suit had passed a phony $20 bill, the police would have asked him where he got the bill and followed the lead back to who created that bill. Rather than being treated as a felon, the guy in the suit would be treated as a potential informant and, if cooperative, would receive a light sentence and much more humane treatment than George Floyd got.

Wealthy people are far less likely to get arrested. If they do get arrested, the bail laws allow those with financial resources to buy temporary freedom for the same crimes while poor people just rot in jail awaiting trial. And, as O. J. Simpson’s trial eloquently demonstrated, a great team of criminal lawyers can produce “reasonable doubt” that police planted evidence and obstructed justice for their guilty client. The person with a public defender is usually encouraged to plea guilty to a lesser charge even if he is innocent or there is already reasonable doubt about his guilt.

And look at how the Republican Party is acting right now! Every single judge that looked at the possibility that the Presidential election was “stolen” ruled against the accusation. It didn’t matter who appointed them. They all disagreed with Donald Trump’s accusation of wrongdoing by election officials and their bipartisan watchdog teams. So, if we’re to believe our legal system, there was no “stolen election.” Furthermore, these types of false accusations by Donald Trump have a long and storied history. This isn’t the first or second time he’s made up stories out of thin air about his political, legal, and social opponents.

So why is the Republican Party working on the assumption that election laws need to “fix” this “problem” that doesn’t really exist?

I think it’s because this “Socialism” is going to “ruin” America by removing assault rifles from common usage, restrict the abuses that vandalized our nation’s legislative branch on January 6, limit the constant pull of corporate perquisites against the needs of voters and consumers, and welcome change, reform and foreign influence. Independents like Bernie Sanders actually vote for what is in the interests of the people they represent rather than corporations who bought their loyalty and cooperation. This is threatening to disrupt the “good old boy” system that has ruled politics since this country was founded.

The “Two Party System” in the United States is corrupt. Maybe it was always corrupt. If you want the party’s backing, you pay your “dues” with loyalty to the party’s “platform” and obedience to the party’s “leaders.” There’s really very little that’s democratic about the financial end of things and so we get presented with “red” states that apparently are loyal to Donald Trump and his fictions about a stolen election and support the suppression of votes similar to the southern states that blocked all blacks from voting until federal troops arrived to create at least some pretense at democracy.

Now that the Republican hold on places like Georgia has been broken, Republicans are fearful that the average voter will actually be emboldened to vote for people that support voter interests rather than the special interests of large and powerful party donors.