Modern tribes in our Congress.

I was reading the letters to the editor in my local paper this morning when I came across someone who was expressing their views regarding how America has changed. When our forefathers conceived of democracy, they were obsessed, and rightly so, with assuring that checks and balances in the government were strong. And, along with their idea of democracy, as a representative government, the will of the American people would be represented by an elected Congress and president. After all, these were the people who chanted “No taxation without representation”. So you can be sure that they knew full well what the importance of concepts of liberty and freedom meant in their budding new democracy. However, as brilliant as our forefathers were, they could not have possibly foreseen the “For Sale” sign on congressional leaders doors or the bitter partisan disputes that can only be likened to “tribalism”. We criticize Iraq for their hostile sectarian disputes ignoring the unity that is called Iraq, while our own Congress battles along partisan lines with complete disregard for the unity that is called America. Are we no different than the very enemies that we despise?

It was George Washington himself who warned us of “the baneful effect of the spirit of the party”. He knew of human nature and its propensity for loyalty. In this case he was referring to the danger of the schisms that could tear apart this great nation, all in the name of political party. Look at what is going on right now. Can you not see how the two major political parties are putting their party loyalty ahead of the American people and the national welfare? Even as Senator Lugar and other conservative Republicans recently gave lip service to how we are going the wrong direction in Iraq but then turn around and vote against a Democratic measure for a withdrawal time line. And, likewise, you see the pitiful proposals that Democrats are taking to ensure that the will of the people is being carried out, such as non-binding legislation, censorship of the President, etc.

If this were a true democracy, then the legislative branch should be working together to force our stubborn and recalcitrant president to bend to the will of the people. After all, aren’t we the ones who pay their salary and fund their stupid wars? Let us not forget that we are paying the bills but no one in the government acts like it. They act as if the money was theirs to do whatever they like. It’s not their money. It’s our money and we need to start acting like responsible shareholders in this United Corporations of America. Oh, I forgot we are Class B shareholders with no voting rights. We can elect the board, but we can’t vote on policy.

We are perhaps not even a shareholder in this glorious United States Corporation. There has been much criticism of the “corporation” and even a movie about its damaging affects on people and the environment. The movie Corporation is a shocking documentary about how far a corporation is willing to go for its rights that trump all other rights in the pursuit of profit. According to Robert Monks, a corporate governance adviser in the film and former GOP candidate for Senate from Maine, “The corporation is an externalizing machine (moving its operating costs to external organizations and people), in the same way that a shark is a killing machine.”

Furthermore, as the film so aptly depicts, the sole purpose of the corporation is to provide profit to the shareholders no matter the consequences. You really ought to check out this movie, it is a daunting tale of the devastating effects of a cold and inhuman business structure that is only bent on its survival above all else.

When I watched this movie, I couldn’t help but think of our government as acting along the same lines. In this case our Congress is the board members, and the lobbyists are the shareholders. Can you see the parallels? Even Noam Chomsky, well known philosopher and political activist, criticized the legal decisions that led to the creation of the modern corporation. He said,

Corporations, which previously had been considered artificial entities with no rights, were accorded all the rights of persons, and far more, since they are “immortal persons”, and “persons” of extraordinary wealth and power. Furthermore, they were no longer bound to the specific purposes designated by State charter, but could act as they choose, with few constraints.

Does this sound familiar? Just substitute “State charter” with “the Constitution” and you have an pretty good explanation of what is going on in America today. So, we shouldn’t be too quick to criticize our enemies for their tribalism when we have a system today that, granted, is more modern with a structure similar to that of a corporation but in which the interests of the corporation are executed by our modern day tribes of Democrats and Republicans (board of directors) and the controlled by the powerful and exclusive lobbyists (shareholders). Oh, and one more thing. Our corporation does have a President of the Board and CEO, his name is King George. What a lovely government we have, wouldn’t you say? I wonder what our forefathers would say if they were alive today?