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Will Poor Americans Still Be Free Under A Corporate Run Government?

Published on: November 2, 2016 at 10:37 PM
By Nick Younker

To be free in America has always been a major chanting point, especially when election season comes around every four years. It should come as no surprise to anyone that politicians, no matter what party they belong to, are inherently vulnerable to being bought. So the real question about this election season is whether or not you are still a free American, or whether you have to pay for the right to be free.

These chants of freedom usually take place on both the right and left. But right-winged political supporters say they want to elect Donald Trump, Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Ted Cruz so that they don’t lose their freedoms. But what American freedoms do they fear losing? Well, just consider the conservative talking points (as promoted by the website, Conservative Talking Points ) on major conservative media outlets like Fox News , The Blaze , Breitbart , Info Wars and various other mediums.

Conservatives usually attack liberals, and their candidates, by saying that they will abolish the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. Donald Trump took that one step further and encouraged supporters of the Second Amendment to do something about Hillary Clinton. They also say that Obamacare (or universal healthcare) will take away their freedom to choose their doctor. Other major fear tactics used by the conservative media are that giving LGBT couples the right to marry infringes on their freedom of religion, not having the Ten Commandments on the courthouse lawn attacks their freedom of religion, limiting the capacity of firearm magazines infringes on their freedom to bear arms, and from there the list just goes on and on.

But has any of those freedoms been taken away since laws have been passed under the Obama administration? Obamacare expands access of healthcare to millions of Americans, mostly to the poor who have historically not had the option to seek medical care for major illnesses and have died as a result. So it is unclear at this time how this access to healthcare has caused conservatives to “lose” their freedom to choose their healthcare unless their insurance companies raise their rates and they cannot afford it. But still, is the government profiting off of that or are the medical insurance companies profiting? Here’s a hint; medical insurance company CEO’s have been reaping record-breaking salaries off of their customers lately, according to a report by The Center for Public Integrity .

There has also been a scare tactic floating around conservative media and supporters that Americans will lose their guns. That rumor has been spouted all eight years of President Obama’s presidency, but it still hasn’t happened. As a matter of fact, it has not even been proposed by President Obama or any of his staff. He did, however, suggest that common sense gun reform was necessary in the form of a regulation on gun manufacturers limiting the size of their magazines and getting stronger background checks, especially for people who are not allowed to fly on airplanes due to suspected terrorism.

LGBT Americans have also been granted the power to marry one another in every American state following the landmark Supreme Court ruling last year. As far as I know, that has not caused one single church in the United States to “go out of business.” Nor has any church been denied the right to worship their God, or practice their religion as guaranteed by the Constitution. So that’s another conservative talking point that was just silly from the onset.

But now, Americans have two major candidates on the ballot in every American state for next week’s election cycle. There, are of course, the outsiders that have gotten their names on the ballot on several states (Libertarian Gary Johnson and (Green Party nominee Jill Stein), but they won’t make much progress in the Electoral college if they cannot get Electoral votes in states that won’t feature their names on the ballot.

So now, only the two major candidates (Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton) will be taken seriously and there is a major rift on both sides with supporters. Republicans have nominated Donald Trump, but he does not have the support of the entire conservative voter base due to extreme allegations of immoral misconduct and actions that are considered unbecoming of an American President.

Conversely, Hillary Clinton also does not have the support of the entire liberal voter base, considering the reportedly widespread corruption that took place during the tumultuous primary battle between herself and the working-class liberal hero, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Supporters of Bernie Sanders have found the conduct of Hillary Clinton to be so reprehensible that they are actually considering voting for Donald Trump.

Now that the FBI has reported the e-mail investigation is back in full swing with new, undisclosed details, there is a good chance that Donald Trump might end up in victory lane on November 8. That is where the question comes in: Will poor Americans still be free under a corporate government?

America is already a capitalist democracy that supports freedom… if you have the money to exist. This “pay to exist” nation takes little pride in the support of the working poor. Even though there are social safety nets in place to help the working poor class survive, what happens when they have worked so hard that their bodies simply cannot do anymore?

Donald Trump has already stated that he will repeal Obamacare and replace it with his own healthcare system, but he has not elaborated on what it is and whether or not poor people will be allowed to use it. Trump has also said that he will cut taxes on the rich, which could lead to a devastating deficit that the middle class will have to shoulder in four short years when the sequel to the Great Recession hits again.

The simple fact is, Donald Trump has a track history of disrespecting and ignoring the needs of minority groups in America, which includes African Americans, women, Muslims, and immigrants. Is it reasonable to assume that he will also use that same judgment, that cut-throat corporate character that he is so well known for on reality TV, to govern poor Americans?

Keeping in mind that America has long been considered the shining emblem of the free world ideology, is it still the free world in a land where capitalism rules so supreme? Is it still a free world when people are convinced to worship money before their own chosen deity?

What is inherently true about America today is that if you want to exist, to live, you have to pay for it. You do not get a free place to live or dwell. You do not get healthcare unless you pay for it. You do not get food or clean water unless you pay for it. You apparently don’t even get a say in whether or not a company can poison your water , as most have come to realize following the tragic results of the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests by Native Americans, according to RT .

So the real question here is, no matter who wins the election, will poor Americans still have freedom in this country? Do they even have it now? Sometimes, it is just too expensive to be alive, unless you are privileged.

[Featured Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

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