I recently viewed the 2006 version of All The King's Men with actor Sean Penn playing the charismatic politician Willie Starks. Although the 1949 original was based on the life of Louisiana Governor Huey Long, the modernized version is closely related to today's political circus. Politicians attempt to coy the vote from the poor majority and middle class, then when elected into office, mask change with corruption and blackmail in order to satisfy the greed of the wealthy.
Who has the real power? Voters don't. Voting is only important when those voting have real power to make change. For instance, when a Senator votes on a bill, that is power. When citizens vote on a referendum, that is power. When protesters, picket or strike for community improvements or better wages, that is power. Let's present a practical example. The bank bailouts of 2008 was voted by members of Congress. Those members had a direct impact on their own bank investments and the stock market. Members of the U.S Congress are allowed to inside stock trade; therefore, bailing out banks and Wall Street was in their best interest. If the bailouts were voted on in a True Democracy, citizens would have voted to pay off there interest-only mortgage loans, school loans, and cars loans. Only one of the three listed happened... the domestic car industry was bailed out. Fannie Mae and Sallie Mae were not.
Who has the most influence? Middle-class don't. The poor have voting influence, because they are the largest population. The wealthy have monetary influence to lobby laws in their favor, because they populate the United States economy with millions of dollars. So why hasn't the middle-class found it's power? The middle-class are comfortable acting rich, while being 2 pay-checks away from being poor. The middle-class are too lazy to protest, unless there are lay-offs. The middle-class lock the door when there is a riot in the community. The middle-class close the window shades when a police investigation is going on in the neighborhood. The middle-class do not open the door when the next door neighbor needs a favor. The definition of a middle-class society has nothing to do with tax bracket or income; it is a mind-set of false entitlement and unmerited privilege. Not all of the middle-class are like this, but in some aspect, the middle-class are a little too quiet, when they should go outside and loot during the riot, point the finger in the direction that the criminal ran, or loan your neighbor a couple of dollars knowing that he/she doesn't have enough to cover expenses.
So why vote? It is important to vote everyday of your life for righteous living and truth. In All the King's Men, Willie Starks platform was about exposing the truth, but once in power, he didn't live for the truth. Every citizen should empower themselves to seek the truth, expose the truth and live the truth. How? Stop telling yourself lies. Stop telling yourself that the government should fix your problems, when you made a bad decision. Stop waiting on the government to provide better health care, when you don't eat healthy or exercise. Pay what you owe to the creditor, pay your taxes and donate to the unfortunate. This will keep casinos out of your district and prevent anxious reliance on a lottery jackpot as a personal bailout. Vote for a better YOU everyday. If you can minimize corruption in your own life, then it will cause a domino affect, then it will be contagious, then influence will birth power, which brings about change.