When I was growing up in the 1960s, I was taught that in a democracy, government of, by, and for the people needs and deserves our trust and engagement. However, Supreme Court decisions such as Citizens United v. FEC, which opened the floodgates to the corrupting influence of big money in politics, have changed all that. Our elected leaders now cater to ultrarich donors who fund their reelection campaigns.
Revelations that appointed Supreme Court justices are also allegedly on the take should come as no surprise (“Report: Donors funded Alito trip,” Page A2, June 22). It does not seem to occur to Justice Samuel Alito that it was no coincidence that a billionaire treated him to an expensive fishing trip to Alaska, or that average Americans cannot take an empty seat on a plane for free.
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Only a Constitutional amendment such as HJRes.54, which seeks to reverse Citizens United, can overturn the anti-democratic Supreme Court doctrines eroding our trust in good government. Our ancestors amended the Constitution 27 times, abolishing slavery, giving women the right to vote, and ending poll taxes. To save our democracy, can we muster the political will to do it again?
Paul Lauenstein
Sharon
