Adlai Frederickson: Let’s live up to the Declaration of Independence

I’ve been struck by the “outsider” movement in this election cycle. It speaks to the discord, dissatisfaction and disenfranchisement of our society at large and with our so-called civil servants. These elected officials put the needs and benefit of the country and its citizenry behind their personal agendas and those of special interests (Wall Street, global corporations, privileged rich).

I hear a lot about patriotism and the Constitution. In my view the defining document of the founding of this country is the Declaration of Independence. The dissatisfaction “We the People” are feeling is clearly articulated and is what is happening now with our pathetic Congress. It is important to look at the reality that the tax cuts are only given to the rich and corporations while the burdens are only born by working men and women.

The deregulation of Wall Street has not promoted free trade but rather promoted theft and fraud free from prosecution. Gerrymandering and Citizens United has all but eliminated accountability of elected officials and undermined representative democracy in both spirit and practice. The Republican debates have been an embarrassment and made the U.S. a very scary laughing stock.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Adlai Frederickson: Let’s live up to the Declaration of Independence."