On July 4, 1776, during the American Revolution, the Second Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies approved the Declaration of Independence. While we are no longer the subjects of the British Empire, we are now the subjects of the corporations.
Today, the American people are governed by a corporate-government dictatorship that serves and protects only the private interests of the corporations and the wealthiest Americans. The democratic and civil rights of the people have been eliminated. This is the 21st century definition of fascism. Our freedom requires we declare our independence from a system that is impoverishing the American people.
Recent reports from the Internal Revenue Service show that nearly 50% of the American people are living at or near the federal poverty level. One-third of working Americans earn less than $23,000 a year, not to mention the millions of unemployed. Youth unemployment is “officially” 16.1% and gets worse by the day.
While American poverty rapidly increases, it is also criminalized. A recent example is 44-year-old homeless Navy veteran James Kelly, who was looking in a garbage dumpster for something to eat. He was charged by the Houston police with breaking a city ordinance: “disturbing the contents of a garbage can in the business district.” Kelly said, “I was just basically looking for something to eat.”
Congress, state and city governments across the country continue to cut life-sustaining, public, government sponsored programs, while at the same time selling off all public property and resources to corporate privateers. In Detroit, the city-owned Detroit Institute of Art announced its intention to sell up to a billion dollars worth of precious paintings. In Chicago, 49 public schools will close to open the way for more corporate owned and operated schools.Efforts areunderway to privatize the federally owned Tennessee Valley Authority, the U.S. Post Office and the government controlled mortgage giants, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
This July 4th is a time for all people of good will to politically unite to confront these dangerous conditions and go on the offensive to ensure our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It requires a new declaration of political independence from the twin-parties of corporate America, and a struggle for a new cooperative society where everyone’s needs are met.
This past April 22, on Earth Day, Dr. Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala, the 2012 Green Party presidential and vice-presidential nominees, announced the formation of the new Green Shadow Cabinet that will serve as an independent voice in U.S. politics, putting the needs of people and protection of the planet ahead of profits for big corporations. The Cabinet will operate in the tradition of shadow cabinets in other countries, responding to actions of the government in office, and demonstrating that another government is possible. The People’s Tribune unites with this effort.
The world is undergoing a global, electronic-based, economic revolution. It is birthing a new epoch of human history. As such, it is ushering into American society the conditions for a political struggle. This requires that we recognize and fight for our commonly shared, basic economic and social interests that represent the public welfare and the common good.
