Democracy, In Greek, is demokratia which comes from 2 Greek words Demos which means people, and Kratos which means power. Thus, demokratia means rule by the people. This is where what we see as modern democracy from. Though the U.S. is a democracy of sorts, it is more of a democratic republic than just a simple democracy. We could get into all the details about how our nation works as a democratic republic but most people have a good grasp of the concept.

What seems to have happened in the last century is slowly but surely the people started losing their power in the U.S. to the big industries, corporations, and those with the money to lobby congress. For example, Big Pharma as we call it spends a big chunk of money lobbying congress in hopes of keeping pharmaceutical prices high to keep their profits high. They claim it’s all for research and development costs, but insulin as one example costs around 30 or so dollars outside the U.S. but costs Americans a hundred or more dollars. Of course, this is an oversimplified example when it comes to Big Pharma or any big industry Lobby campaign is about.

The point is, if any citizen group were to lobby for something that any big industry or wealthy lobbyist group disliked, the outcome would be more than likely in favor of those with the money to lobby congress and not for the lobbyist group with the most beneficial ideas. The question is how do we level the playing field between big money / big industry and the non-profit or civilian lobbyist groups?

Since it is supposed to be the will of the people of the United States and not just the rich and or powerful such as big industry etc. it is an issue that should be dealt with. I feel most of the time it is the ideals and agendas of the big money lobbyists that are being heard and acted upon and that the voices of the people the congress is supposed to serve are usually ignored or downplayed. It is all about the money I believe in the end and not about democracy or good politics.

In the end, I feel there should be some heavy regulation of the political lobby groups and term limits in congress as well. When people stay in power too long they lose focus and eventually lose touch with the people they are there to serve. Unfortunately, the house and senate both are starting to resemble the roman senate in their worst years before Rome’s demise.

Senators and Representatives are too focused on getting sound bytes and tv time, too rigid and uncompromising to get anything done that benefits the people they were elected to serve. But give them something to do to help their lobbyist buddies and their political supporters, then you will see things get pushed through. Both the Republican and Democrat parties are catering too much to the extremism and radical base of their own party which is not good politics.

I just find it funny, that if I were to act like some of those in congress, I would be viewed as a villain of some sort or someone that needs to be on medication. Oh, and more than likely I would have been fired from my job for some of the actions displayed and words uttered by those in congress. I guess I am just disappointed in how some of those folks are behaving and can not fathom why there are no consequences for such.

Maybe I will just chuck it up to the pandemic and trying times we are living in being too much for them to bear. Who knows, but they do need to remember they represent us all and the World is watching them and so are the voters.