Here’s what Edwards had to say on August 23 in New Hampshire:
Real change starts with being honest — the system in Washington is rigged and our government is broken. It’s rigged by greedy corporate powers to protect corporate profits. It’s rigged by the very wealthy to ensure they become even wealthier. At the end of the day, it’s rigged by all those who benefit from the established order of things. For them, more of the same means more money and more power. They’ll do anything they can to keep things just the way they are — not for the country, but for themselves.
[The system is] controlled by big corporations, the lobbyists they hire to protect their bottom line and the politicians who curry their favor and carry their water. And it’s perpetuated by a media that too often fawns over the establishment, but fails to seriously cover the challenges we face or the solutions being proposed. This is the game of American politics and in this game, the interests of regular Americans don’t stand a chance.
This is spot on. But Edwards wasn’t finished, as reported by Alternet:
“Let me tell you one thing I have learned from my experience,” Edwards said last week. “You cannot deal with them on their terms. You cannot play by their rules, sit at their table, or give them a seat at yours. They will not give up their power — you have to take it from them.”
Now we need a dozen other candidates telling it like it is, plus hundreds of elected officials willing to do something about it. All of that is a long way off. Edwards’ speech was important, though. All important journeys begin with a single step.
I've had the pleasure of meeting Senator Edwards several times. John Edwards has a vision of American based upon community, guided by compassion, and committed to peace. If you see what he has done in his private life to make a difference for those which had none to stand for them, and see what he brings to America in his deeds and virtues, you will, as I do, support John Edwards for President in 2008.
Go to JohnEdwards.com and see what I mean.
The real danger that everyone fails to see, especially the politicians, is that the government has failed to pay due attention to the needs of the majority. A commonality in the fall of governments through history is the lack of response to the needs of the many in exchange for response to the wants of the few.
The needs of the majority are not necessarily what is best for the whole. Civilizations have fallen by pandering to a majority and ignoring the rest.
Somehow I get the sense that Niklaus is impliedly criticizing John Edwards for his compassion. After we take away the young, poor, elderly, minorities, single mothers, women and the disabled, what's left? What's left is a buncha WASPs males with millions from their inheritances or from robbing everyone else. It is true that our govenment ignores the needs of the many in favor of these few.