A Deeper Perspective on What’s Really Attacking American Democracy

Writes author and activist Marianne Williamson . . .

The real “attack on our democracy” wasn’t just one event that took place a year ago; it’s the larger pattern of legalized bribery that’s destroying our democracy from the inside. Every time resources of hope and opportunity are transferred from the many to the few, our democracy is attacked. The main point of attack is the systemic corruption that goes on in that Capitol building every single day.

. . . The real dichotomy in American politics is not between the Right and the Left; it’s between the powerful and the powerless. The political-media industrial complex, headquartered in both parties, has created the Left-Right culture wars to distract Americans from the truth of who and what actually oppresses them. Our fellow citizens are not our enemy. Greed is our enemy. Abusive power is our enemy. Injustice is our enemy. Unfettered corporate influence is our enemy.

And those are the things that have been attacking our democracy. Many of the people who so sanctimoniously sang democracy’s praises today, standing on the Capitol steps with those stupid fake candles in their hands, are for all practical purposes but handmaidens to democracy’s enemies. No legislator who takes money from Big Pharma or insurance companies; gun manufacturers, Big Chem or Big Ag; Big Oil or the MIC [media industrial complex] has any right to call themselves a defender of our democracy. Not today, and not any day. Nor does it matter any more that they don’t see that. We do.

– Marianne Williamson
Excerpted from “January 6”
Transform
January 6, 2022

UPDATE: On January 13, 2022, Marianne Williamson appeared on Breaking Points and expounded upon many of the points she raised in her op-ed from which the above is excerpted.





NEXT: “How Can One Overreact to a
Mortal Threat to American Democracy?”

Related Off-site Links:
Congress Closes Day of Events Marking Anniversary of January 6 Riot With Candlelight Vigil – Kate Scanlon (Washington Examiner, January 6, 2022).
The Reckoning That Didn’t Come – Susan Milligan and Lisa Hagen (U.S. News, January 7, 2022).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “The Coup Attempt on January 6th Was a Warning for What’s to Come If We Don’t Act”
• Will Democrats Never Learn?
• Norman Solomon: Quote of the Day – July 8, 2021
• Marianne Williamson: “Anything That Will Help People Thrive, I’m Interested In”
• “Two of the Most Dedicated and Enlightened Heroes of Present Day America”
• Inauguration Eve Musings
• Biden’s Win: “As Much the Sounding of An Alarm As a Time for Self-Congratulations”
• We Cannot Allow a Biden Win to Mean a Return to “Brunch Liberalism”

Opening image: On January 6, 2022, Democrats held a day of events to mark the attack on the U.S. Capitol of a year ago, including speeches, personal testimony, a panel of historians, videos, moments of silence, and a candlelight vigil. (Photo: Drew Angerer / Getty Images)