Being played by moneyed interests

I am sitting here on the Metra train, trying to compose a letter that accurately expresses my fear for the direction our political leaders, both state and federal, are taking us.

Every day brings new antics from the White House that demean not only the office, but every American. Congress seems locked in a pitched battle in which winning matters more than anything else. Who are they fighting for? It certainly doesn't seem to be me.

Full disclosure: I am about as liberal as they come. But I am not writing this to pick a fight with those who views differ from mine, nor do I seek validation from those that are on my "side." My aim today is to suggest to anyone reading this - all the regular, workaday people who have far more pressing problems than anything they see in the political news each day - that we are being played.

Moneyed interests that largely control our elected representatives - and a concerning swath of our media - have turned us against one another, have us calling each other ugly names - "libtard," "deplorable," the list goes on and on - and I think it is all a big diversion.

It is time to set all that noise aside, and see that our common best interest does not coincide with that of the billionaires who have come to enjoy an unprecedented level of influence over all levels of government. Let us work together to rid our political system of this corrupting influence and take our government back.

Shelagh Savino

Glen Ellyn