1. United States
2. Ga.
3. Letter

To my Congressmen in Senate and House: I saw the following statement in a meme today, and do not doubt its truth, nor do I doubt the need I perceive it implies, based on the good of society and on your Federal oaths: "The System isn't broken. It's functioning exactly as designed. That's the problem. " You see, we have a conflict of moral philosophies at the core of political manipulation to make corporations into people and money into free speech. And Big Business's rational basis for "good," I.e., What's Beneficial For Business, is conflicting with a more socially responsible basis for "good": What We Owe to Each Other ... and to the Planet. Some in Big Business, perhaps among the richest success stories there, have no problem with how the System worked to elevate Donald Trump to power. And they have no trouble commandeering pastors, politicians, and pundits, and manipulating millions, to see moral matters their way. And you who took Federal office see things their way, too, or you risk losing their hefty financial support. Remember, it's unlimited, because it's Free Speech! And of course your campaigns, struggling as they often do, don't want to lose that kind of money. Societal benefit, and principled leadership, and even making "good trouble," these all pale compared to your desire to SUCCEED at your profession. But if you do revere that SUCCESS more than your Federal oath to defend the Constitution, you betray it. And you betray us. That the powerful have manipulated enough of us to keep betrayers of their oaths in office is easy to see, and sad to witness. Because those privileged, prosperous, and powerful are rubbing our noses in their power over us, power to halt the social good and environmental progress. This makes them a DOMESTIC THREAT, because the Constitution's founders wanted a society that looked out for the average American, and for people of all kinds. Jefferson wanted to rail against slavery in the Declaration of Independence, but the wealthy and powerful white men who benefited from it (like he did) led to the other Founding Fathers telling him to strike those sentences, lest the Declaration not win approval. You face the same kind of battle today, but with different stakes. Will it take another Civil War to cause the principled to win the day over the opportunistic? I hope not. Make some good trouble. End Citizens United, and put convicted felon Donald J. Trump out of the White House and into jail.