Yesterday we saw, right before our very eyes, just how little influence the individual citizen has in our sacred elections. When Justin Amash spoke the truth about what Robert Mueller put in his report, the DeVos family announced that they would no longer fund his campaign.

While we have long known that our politicians are bought by the rich, the rich used to at least do it quietly. Not any longer. Apparently, being bought is no longer a bad thing. You can only be a candidate if you have the backing of the super rich. And you only have their backing if you govern their way, not the way that is best for the country. That is why, when I write to my representatives, I get no answer. Oh, granted, I get an answer if my question fits into one of their form replies. If, for example, my email includes the word immigration then I get their immigration form reply. I never get replies to my questions about ethics, rule of law or the Constitution.

They are only answerable to the deep pocket. As someone who has never contributed to a political party or candidate, I say it is time that we contribute, in our small way, so that we can become relevant again. We will never get politicians to make laws restricting political contributions so we must take the process into our own hands.

Through the internet it is now easy for us to make a difference by contributing to candidates we think will reflect our ideals. Don’t kid yourselves, the Constitution is currently in peril. We are watching as the White House ignores the rule of law and any ethical standards we thought we lived by. Its occupants ignore our Constitution and try to rule like dictators. The longer they do this the more Republicans fall into their web of corruption. Please, we must do our best to stop the corrosion and put ourselves back on the right track. We must earn our democratic form of government. We cannot just continue to assume that it will always be there for us.

Don’t do nothing or we are lost. Contribute and VOTE. PLEASE.

Linda Maguire

Jim Thorpe