Franklin TV: July 4th = Democracy So many fought for it. Let’s keep it.

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 07/03/2022

Our arduous trail to freedom is a hard-fought journey littered with great sacrifice. Our grand experiment in democracy – it was literally revolutionary. That great upheaval returns, and we are again at the precipice of revolution. Don’t think so?

Consider this think-tank analysis: The socioeconomic stability of any country is maintained when the income for the upper 2% of society is not more than10 times the income for the average citizen. This statistic indicates that a 10x income disparity defines a threshold for triggering populist unrest. It’s the widening divide between the haves and the have nots. It marks the edge of revolution. We’re there. Another tenet holds that democracy maintains its stability through revolution at the ballot box. We avoid physical revolution because we vote the bad actors out that don’t advance equitable public policies. That’s how voting is supposed to work. It presumes that votes are reasoned decisions. Sadly, too often they’re not.

Democracy So many fought for it. Let’s keep it

Our first revolution began here in Massachusetts. Today’s is elsewhere – in the flyover states – in the South – in economically depressed regions of the country. This populist revolution harnesses the disenfranchised who are aimlessly angry over their hapless helpless circumstances. There’s a lot of ongoing pain out there. Today’s revolution got branded early in this century. The Tea Party. Catchy, no? Right wing conservative media fueled it. Republican candidates legitimized it. Trump seized it. He usurped all reason with anger mongering three-word chants. Lock – Her – Up!  Stop – the – Steal!  Hang – Mike – Pence!  Three – Word – Chant!

Other pandering pols blast ‘dog whistles’ over contrived social evils. They harvest votes from all that aimless anger. Anger = votes. We, the People – are being played. The essential quality that is completely absent on this grand stage? It’s integrity. If our elections are to save us, we must save our elections. They’re not broken or fraudulent, but there are those who claim that they are. Why? They want control. They believe that it’s not the votes that count. It’s those who count the votes. They want that job. Hence, they foment false revolution. It is high irony that they are socially engineering democracy to kill itself at the ballot box. We must identify, support and vote for candidates who hold a steadfast commitment to our Constitution with integrity in thought and deed and who have the courage to act.

Vote – Smart – Now! Vote – Smart – Now! https://justfacts.votesmart.org/ 

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