Photo/Daymonjhartley.com
The need for the constitutional amendment against ‘corporate personhood’ advocated by Move to Amend was demonstrated clearly by a recent vote in the U.S. Senate.
On the eve of the late-May worldwide protest against Monsanto, some 71 U.S. senators voted against guaranteeing states the right to enact laws requiring the labeling of foods containing GMOs (genetically modified organisms), part of this year’s farm bill.
They did this despite the fact that 90 percent of the public have made it clear they want labels on foods containing genetically engineered ingredients.
Why would so many senators disregard the desire of 90 percent of their constituents simply to know what’s in the food we eat? Why are they more responsive to the companies that create these Frankenfoods than to the people they are elected to represent?
We all know the answer—it’s money. It takes a ton of money to become a U.S. senator, and the best way to get it is from rich people and giant corporations.
Asked why he robbed banks, the famous Depression-era bank robber, Willie Sutton, famously replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” Our politicians are just as smart as Willie. They know where the money is and how to get it—by becoming good and loyal employees of Global Corp and representing its interests in the halls of government.
That used to be called “taking bribes.” No more. Bribes have been reformulated as “campaign contributions,” and we are not surprised when companies contribute to politicians on both sides of the aisle. That’s “being impartial,” not bribing everyone in sight.
All of this has been enabled by the court-created doctrines of corporate constitutional rights and decision after decision equating money with free speech.
That’s the legal basis for the takeover of our government, our media, our schools—all aspects of our lives—by enormous economic entities that do not have our best interests at heart. Indeed, they have no hearts, one good indicator they are not human beings and shouldn’t have the rights the Constitution reserves for people!
Any successful strategy to end corporate control must address corporate constitutional rights and money as speech. The courts are constantly used to defy the will of the people when it is in conflict with the interests of corporations.
The 2012 debacle around California’s Prop. 37 (to label GMO food) is a prime example. Because the courts have ruled that “money is speech,” the corporations behind the “No on 37” campaign were able to pour $45 million into saturating the airways with false and misleading ads in the month before the election, creating enough confusion to narrowly defeat the proposition.
Move to Amend is the national coalition campaigning for the “We the People” Amendment that establishes that “corporations are not People” and “Money is not Speech.” A grassroots organization, Move to Amend will help you start an affiliate in your area if there is none already. For more info, visit www.Movetoamend.org.
Abraham Entin founded the Sonoma County affiliate of Move to Amend.
