Supreme Court and ‘Dark Money’ Opens the Door to a New Debate
As political scandals continue to dominate the media landscape and threaten the integrity of American democracy, another potential scandal has entered the equation: dark money.
As political scandals continue to dominate the media landscape and threaten the integrity of American democracy, another potential scandal has entered the equation: dark money.
Recently, I wrote a letter to the editor of my local newspaper that elicited a response from someone who interpreted what I said as a partisan opinion. I welcome intelligent rebuttal. It shows that people are thinking, caring and acting.
As we integrate the results of the mid-term elections, it’s a good time to ponder what really goes on with our election process. There’s a lot that many of us don’t know about how it works.
I am an historian. I know of many societies that have fallen, or began to decline, when they ended up being led by an insane person or persons. I define insanity as a state of being seriously mentally ill, often including delusional behavior and being out of touch with reality.
If you’re wondering why you should care about midterm elections, there are a few reasons why this is a crucial election cycle. First, midterm elections always draw fewer voters than presidential elections, which means that the results are often decided by a small percentage of people. For example, in the last midterm election, only 36% of eligible voters cast a ballot.
Modern societies operate through their formal institutions. These institutions are run by bureaucracies that carry out the tasks necessary for the functioning of that society. As with aging human bodies that increasingly fail to function, bureaucracies also go into decline. A sure indicator of a society’s impending demise is the breakdown of its bureaucracies.
As I’ve watched the January 6 investigation, I have been struck by the various testimonies from people reporting on their actions and responses to what was going on before, during and after the assault on the Capitol.
Nearly all of us, regardless of age, have had schoolyard experiences with bullies. Sometimes bullying behavior is subtle and sometimes it’s severe. It can be found in all cultures, all ages, and in both sexes. It is always destructive.
In times of rapid change, quality of leadership is vital to the outcome of what type of society emerges. We are collectively and specifically, in such a time. What goes into good leadership? How can we tell if someone has the leadership qualities needed to guide us forward? These questions confront us every time we go to the ballot box to choose new leaders or when we decide which organizations to support or who to follow.
The Putin/Russian invasion of Ukraine is the physical manifestation of an asymmetrical world war that began in modern times with the collapse of the Soviet Union, but with roots going father and deeper to the fundamental nature of who we are as a species.