Kaitrin+H

Kaitrin Hartnett

Democracy. A government by the people, for the people. However, in today’s current economic crisis I think many can agree democracy can be defined as a government for those with power. Power means money and any answer to a solution is simple and clear; money. With money, democracy is yours in the taking. Power in the past has been demonstrated peacefully to accomplish a goal for the greater good of the people, the way democracy __should be__, through figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. who successfully preached non violent protest. It is a shame that today power is being taking advantage of and that power is defined merely by your bank statement. We live in a world of contradictions. Men like billionaire Allen Stanford, who is accused of laundering money to drug cartels, ultimately enabling them to enter the country, leave a sticky situation at the border of Mexico and US. However, it is the fact that Stanford’s affiliations with politicians, such as his $2.4 million he has graciously given to politicians over the past several years will very much unlikely land him a spot in jail. Another case of such abuse of power is Bernard Madoff who ripped off investors over the past years by taking over $70 billion. However, men like these who have contributed to politicians get the easy way out. With Obama’s cabinet full of contradicts such as Timothy F. Geithner, the new United States Treasury Secretary, it is no wonder we have no faith or trust. How can we listen to a man preaching about taxpayers, when he himself is guilty of not paying taxes. If you have an obese doctor lecturing to you about weight loss, are you going to take his advice seriously? The irony is outrageous. With men like these it is no wonder there is such a pessimistic outlook on the nation’s future and forthcoming generations. In a court system today you are either a slum dog or a millionaire, meaning you are guilty or innocent. Is that how democracy should be?