Rule by the vote, not by the marketplace

I think it's time for our nation to start acting like a society instead of a marketplace.

The economy is only one aspect of what makes up the fabric of this society. While our capitalist movers and shakers would love for us to believe that consumerism is our only purpose as citizens, that mindset only serves to enhance their bottom line. It doesn't solve poverty, inequality and the separateness that makes us more vulnerable to a host of divisive manipulations.

I'm tired of the marketplace attitude - I'm tired of every keystroke on my intelligent devices being catalogued by some behavioral program that takes away my humanity just so some marketing department guru knows what kind of brainwashing I'll be most susceptible to in order to buy their product.

We're a nation that's in debt on every level thanks to a marketplace that's manipulated us into buying the next throw-away piece of junk. The solution to creating a more harmonious society is to ensure power sharing.

When we all have a stake in the decision-making process, we all have a responsibility for the desired outcome.

In this society, that all begins with the vote. This one right confers ownership on us all; and owners have rights as well as obligations.

Each citizen, rich and poor alike, is given only one vote Being a citizen of this great nation is not a spectator sport.

Robert Clark

Wheeling