Ronald Reagan Was Right

Or to be more precise … his corporate speech writers were absolutely correct when they wrote this line for him to recite, “Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem.”

Of course that statement wasn’t true when he read it from his script … but it is today. In the 28 years since Ronald Reagan became the top spokesman for Corporate America, the government of the United States has become a wholly owned subsidiary of The Corporatocracy. Our government does the bidding of the highest bidder. We The People just don’t have enough cash to make our elected representatives represent us.

Our decline into corporatism accelerated when we realized how powerless we were to effect change. The more we understood we couldn’t stop the Corporate Wars … we couldn’t demand decent affordable healthcare … we couldn’t even insist that our elected leaders be held accountable for crimes they committed against humanity … the more we stopped participating in the process of government. Which is one of the goals of The Corporatocracy. They achieve their aims faster if we are demoralized, disenfranchised, and disinterested.

If voter turnout is an accurate measure of determining the sentiment of The People … over one third of us didn’t bother to vote in the 2008 election. Worldwide we rank third from the bottom in voter turnout. And why should we vote anyway? The difference between the two corporate candidates is largely cosmetic. Both political parties represent corporate interests … not ours. We have yet to see the Change We Can Believe In. Studies using game theory, which takes into account the ability of voters to interact, have found that the expected turnout for any large election should be … zero.

So in this arena … The Corporatocracy has won. And we know that conditions will not stay the same … they don’t get better by themselves … It Will Only Get Worse.

It doesn’t help that We’re Americans. The French brought their country to a standstill with a national strike over the way their government attempted to reform the pension system. We’re not capable of doing that. I don’t know why. It’s not that we need Instant Gratification … it’s just very difficult for most of us to do anything if we can’t see any discernible change within a short period of time. We’ve been at war for over 8 years and regardless of the protests … the marches … the letters … we will be at war for years into the future. It’s impossible to measure if we’re making any difference at all.

But …

There is still a reason why we shouldn’t all stand in line for a cup of Jim Jones Flavor-Aid. There is a reason to still have Hope. We don’t need a National Strike. We don’t have to bus in by the thousands and march on Washington. We don’t have to make one sign or banner.

And We Can Still Prevail.

All we have to do is … Stop Eating .. Poison.

And we will literally transform the world. Within 10 years … tops.

I realize that right about now you might think it’s time for the Men In White Coats to come scoop me up in one of their industrial-sized butterfly nets … but … give me a couple of minutes more …

First: Go rent, beg, borrow, or steal a copy of the documentary, Food, Inc.

In 93 minutes you’ll find out that our Food Industrial Complex is out to kill us. You’ll see how a handful of corporations control our nation’s food supply. Though the companies try to maintain the myth that our food still comes from farms with red barns and white picket fences, our food is actually raised on massive “factory farms” and processed in mega industrial plants.

The current method of raw food production is largely a response to the growth of the fast food industry since the 1950s. The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the last 10,000. And these changes are making us sick.

Because of the high proliferation of processed foods derived from corn, Americans are facing alarming increases in obesity, especially among children. 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes. Among minorities, the rate will be 1 in 2.

70% of processed foods today have genetically modified ingredients.

Cattle given feed that their bodies are not biologically designed to digest, resulting in new strains of E. coli bacteria, which sickens roughly 73,000 Americans annually.

In 1998, the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and E. coli so that if a plant repeatedly failed these tests, the USDA could shut down the plant. After being taken to court by the meat and poultry associations, the USDA no longer has that power.

“There is this deliberate veil, this curtain that’s drawn between us and where our food is coming from. The industry doesn’t want you to know the truth about what you’re eating because if you knew, you might not want to eat it.” — Eric Schlosser, author of “Fast Food Nation.”

Food, Inc. shows us how the Food Industrial Complex came into being and how it uses political power to stay in power. And after watching the film you’ll understand that this is one war we can win. Go to foodincmovie.com and learn 10 simple things we can do change the food system

It’s all about the money. And the ability to measure progress. Assume a family of 3 spends about 600 dollars a month on food. By not giving the money to the Food Industrial Complex … that’s $7,200 a year that isn’t going to Monsanto, or Tyson chicken, or any other company that peddles poison. That loss of market share makes corporations pay attention. Organic foods start showing up in Wal-Mart. It’s happening now. And because of that … tons of pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers aren’t going into the system. For every fast food burger we don’t buy … or any organic foods we do buy … makes a real difference.

“The irony is that the average consumer does not feel very powerful. They think that they are the recipients of whatever industry has put there for them to consume. Trust me, it’s the exact opposite. Those businesses spend billions of dollars to tally our votes. When we run an item past the supermarket scanner, we’re voting.” — Gary Hirshberg, founder of Stonyfield Farm.

In this one arena we have the power to finally make The Corporatocracy adapt to our demands. So often we’ve had to adapt to what they force upon us. Please watch Food, Inc. Go to foodincmovie.com and see how we literally can change the world … one bite at a time.

And unless the president and congress attempt a Food Reformation Act where we’re all mandated to buy crappy food … I think we have a shot at it.

“Imagine what it would be if, as a national policy, we said we would be only successful if we had fewer people going to the hospital next year than last year? The idea then would be to have such nutritionally dense, unadulterated food that people who ate it actually felt better, had more energy and weren’t sick as much … now, see, that’s a noble goal.” — Joel Salatin, owner/farmer of Polyface Farms

Ronald Reagan Was Right December 9, 2009