As long as we have had recorded speech, we have been aware of the
affect that words can have on people.
There are countless examples of leaders, popular people, and even
ordinary citizens crafting arguments that sway people to their way of
thinking. Where would we, as a society,
be without the words of such figures as Martin Luther King, Jr., William
Shakespeare, and the many religious figures that have come and gone throughout
history? In our digital age, where the
words that people say are often carried more in text form than in auditory
form, the things that people say can have an impact, both to a wide ranging
audience and to a small personal audience.
The recent ruling by the US Supreme Court in the Citizens United
decision has had a wide ranging affect on out political process. In this decision, the Supreme Court ruled
that money was a form of speech, and, because of our First Amendment protected
freedoms on speech and the legal precedent that corporations are people, no limits can be put on that amount of money that can be
spent in the political arena, nor can there be a limit on what that money is
spent on. People have criticized the
Supreme Court on this decision, specifically noting the kind of undue influence
that the wealthy among us can now have on the political process. This criticism has not stopped many of
America's most wealthy persons from using their wealth to increase their
participation in the American political process.
The recent released critically acclaimed movie American Hustle
focuses on the ABSCAM scandal. This
scandal involved Middle Eastern sheiks bribing several politicians in exchange for political favors. The ABSCAM scandal
is not the only time politicians have been caught up in a bribery scandal. Recently the high rising political careers of
Republican politicians Bob McDonnell and John Swallow were each cut short after
both politicians were accused of taking money from wealthy and influential
political donors. It is not just
politicians that can be influenced by money.
If we look deeply into the way the we approach our lives, the influence
of money, and the way that we and others spend money, is evident and, in some
cases, shocking.
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