We, the eligible voters, have become the foot soldiers for the power brokers. Who are the power brokers? They are the special interests that control our political process. They manage to funnel large amounts of money to the candidates and then expect large dividends from those contributions.
And we do their bidding. We take their sides, argue their points for them and in turn, we get nothing for our effort. Do you really think the power brokers are doing anything for our safety and security? Do you really feel that any decisions made in Washington are motivated by anything other than an indebtedness to these power brokers? And just like any good foot soldier, we have become the disposable fodder for them, only good for one vote, nothing more, nothing less.
The only options I have left is not to vote and not to contribute a single penny to any politician or party. And I am not advocating apathetic surrender, I am suggesting a very public disapproval of the politicians, party’s, power brokers and special interest that now own Washington. My vote is the only thing left in this political process that belongs to me, and I am not going to give it away.
I will give my time and money to my family, my community and those in need.
I will believe in the god I want to believe in, or no god at all. I will make moral decisions because I know they are right, not because some politician promises to support my morals. I will show respect to others because they deserve respect, not because some rule or regulation tells me to. I will find any way I can to decrease my spending on energy, food, toys or anything that tries to beholden me to big business.
In our hearts, we know the truth. Not a single politician we send to Washington (or our local governments) can stand up to the power brokers. The ones that try are cut down and become political carrion. The rest of them become the lockstep storm troopers of the ungodly amount of money that controls them.
Yes, we have become their foot soldiers. And who are we fighting for the cause? Each other. The anger and hate keeps us busy and clouds the real issues. In the past, we had some control over this age-worn strategy, but now the power brokers have become entrenched in the system. And they are not going away. They have become a thunderhead, a riptide, barreling uncontrolled toward their complete ownership of every politician and every citizen.
Washington knows what has to be done. They know what needs to be fixed. Let them know that we will not support them until they make a course correction. Will my “no vote” make a difference. Yes, it will to me. And if we become a viable statistic, then the power brokers will start to get the message. This will not happen overnight, but it has to happen soon. The people said “no” to the British in the 1770’s and it’s about time we start using that word again.
Walter L. Newton lives in Golden. EDITOR’S NOTE: This online-only guest commentary has not been edited. Guest commentary submissions of up to 650 words may be sent to openforum@denverpost.com.
