In “The Matrix,” Agent Smith asks humanity’s hero, Neo, “What good is a phone call if you’re unable to speak?” It’s a powerful scene and perhaps the creepiest in the film.
What good is democracy, America, if you’re unable to speak? If your opposition to genocide in Gaza leads to you being labeled a terrorist and sent away to a place where your voice won’t be heard. If your shouts for peace, for greater fairness, for real change are simply drowned out by the “speech” of those with vastly more money than you, thus vastly bigger and louder megaphones.
Who does Donald Trump listen to, small donors who send him $20 or $200 or Miriam Adelson who gave him $100 million? Who would you listen to if you were Trump? Small wonder he’s Making Israel Great Again (MIGA).
Broadly speaking, Americans don’t want a war with Yemen. They don’t support Israel’s annihilation of Gaza. Yet your wants simply don’t matter. You have no say. Not when billionaires and powerful corporations have already bought “your” president and “your” representatives.
Public funding of elections is absolutely essential to curbing this corruption. Despite what the Supreme Court claims, money isn’t speech, and corporations are not citizens. Money is money, and those with the most money shouldn’t be allowed to use that money to drown out the voices of everyone else.
Oh, in the scene above, you’ll note that Neo is “bugged.” We’re all bugged as well. It’s called a Smart phone.