We Shall See

When Barack Obama talks about hope and change, he uses our billions to bail out banks while offering us bromides. When Evo Morales talks about hope and change, he uses Bolivia’s resources for Bolivians, not for US corporations.

Instead of giving away America’s resources to corporations, Obama could follow the Bolivian model, where water, electricity and communication are considered human rights. He could follow the European model, where education and health care are considered human rights. At the very least, he could stop the looting under existing contracts between corporations and the United States government. He could also end the practice of bribery that exists between corporations and members of Congress they purchase through campaign donations.

None of this, of course, will happen without social disruption of the corrupt status quo. And that requires that Americans take on the risky responsibilities of political adulthood, like they did in Bolivia. We shall see.