21st Century Government Leaders are Not Who You Think They Are.
Every couple of years we have an election cycle. We the people listen to the candidates make their promises and beg for our votes. I am starting to wonder if that is what we should be doing? Are we actually electing officials that are representing the needs and desires of America?
In my humble opinion, I don’t think so. The events and consequences of this week have changed how I view our government. They are not in control, but I can tell you who is.
Big tech has always had a hand in government decisions, but now it seems they want to take over.
Let me explain this further.
The Beginning of Big Tech Influence
Big tech influence began its rise during the Jacksonian period. Andrew Jackson was the first presidential candidate to campaign. Effectively, he began the trend of individuals donating money to support candidates. In return, those individuals received prominent positions in the federal government.
Jump forward to the post-Civil War years, and you find William McKinley and his opponent, William Jennings Bryan, receiving substantial amounts of money from donations.
The Gilded Age of America continues this trend of donations from individuals going to the candidates they support. Accusations of bribery and scandal are swirling. President Taft signs into law the Federal Corrupt Practices Act, which stated that all monies spent on campaigns for House and general elections are to be publicly noted.
In 1943, political action committees (PAC) are born. Creating these committees was a direct response to the Tillman Act of 1907. The Tillman Act banned corporations and national banks from donating money to federal campaigns. The idea was and still is that if corporations couldn’t give money, then a PAC could raise money from individuals and donate that money to the candidate they support.
We could discuss the Watergate scandal, Supreme court cases like Buckley v. Valeo and Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, soft money, campaign finance reform of the last 50 years, but we would be here all day.
The bottom line is that money has always talked and our American government listens too closely.
21st Century Big Tech Influence
On January 6, 2021, protestors invaded the U.S. Capital building. Since this atrocity happened, big tech companies quickly took action to cancel anyone who supports President Trump and the President himself.
According to a New York Times article published January 11, the following companies have halted their political giving.
- AT&T
- Marriott
- JP Morgan
- Dow
- Airbnb
- Morgan Stanley
- Microsoft
- Coca-Cola
- Citigroup
- Golden Sachs
Facebook and Twitter banned Trump from using their platforms. Most recently Twitter has banned Sidney Powell and Michael Flynn stating “they had engaged in harmful activity related to the group QAnon.” Apple and Google effectively took Parler, a conservative social media platform, out of their stores. Amazon suspended the use of their web-hosting service to Parler.
In an article from the Wall Street Journal, reporter Emily Glazer quotes Thomas Glocer when he states “We have to create some level of cost.” My question is, what level of cost are they trying to reach?
By the way, Glocer is a board member at Morgan Stanley and Merck.
Who are our 21st Century Government Leaders?
The list of punishments directed toward the Republican Party, President Trump, and any regular Joe that voted for him are endless. From my observations, it seems as if our government leaders are now Facebook, Twitter, and Golden Sachs.
No longer are we electing officials that want to do good for America. We are electing officials to decide what we can say, what we can do, and effectively wipe out anyone or anything that is against them. Cancel culture has reached a new level, and we need to evaluate this situation carefully.
Peter Suciu, a reporter for Forbes magazine, made a statement that we should consider.
As most experts agree, this isn’t exactly a censorship issue because the government isn’t trying to silence a news organization or otherwise stifle any First Amendment rights, but it could be argued that this is the first time the government has been essentially silenced by the media.
The media, big tech, and big business are not taking our First Amendment rights away. They are smarter than that. They are taking away the outlets and platforms that enable us to use our First Amendment rights.
Where Do We Go From Here?
I don’t have a conclusive answer to this question. What I believe our country needs to consider is where political power truly lies. We should be asking when did big tech and the media decide that if we disagree, we are inciting a riot. When did we the people allow big tech to be arbiters of truth?
In days gone by, we could write a letter to our representative if we wanted to advocate for change. Today, Americans might want to send their letters to JP Morgan or Citigroup. You might even want to get the address for Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey, since 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue isn’t relevant anymore.
