Yesterday I had the privilege of hearing Jeff Clements speak at Montclair Presbyterian Church. Jeff is a co-founder and general counsel of “Free Speech for People” and the author of “Corporations Are Not People: Why They Have More Rights Than You Do and What You Can Do About It.” He talked about a great deal of what is in his book regarding how it is that corporations ended up winning their Supreme Court case that basically declared that they have the same rights of free speech as people. Jeff gave an example of how treating a corporation like a person actually plays out when it comes to free speech. He said an organic cattle farmer from Vermont decided to speak out against the Monsanto Corporation. Monsanto is the one that created the bovine growth hormone that is injected into cattle to make them produce more milk more rapidly. As you might imagine, the growth hormone is terrible for cattle and causes all kinds of infection and other side effects. The organic farmer in Vermont wanted to get Vermont to pass a law saying that any product (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc…) that came from a cow that had been injected with the growth hormone should be labeled as having that growth hormone in it so people would know exactly what they were buying. After a great deal of time and energy spent on getting the bill through the legislature, the end result was that Monsanto eventually won the case because it was against their free speech right to force the to “say” something they didn’t want to say. People all over our country are still trying to tackle this issue. In California, there is a petition being circulated for signatures that insists that food that has been genetically modified be labeled as such. Hopefully it will be one of our ballot initiatives in November.
Sometimes it is easy to feel hopeless when trying to take on multinational corporations. Jeff was encouraging all those gathered by giving examples in the past of people taking on corporations and winning. He said that what he finds astounding right now is that 80% of the American people are AGAINST corporations being treated like people and being given the same rights. He made it a point to say that this is an issue that crosses all political and religious lines. This is not a democratic or republican or independent or conservative or progressive Christian or Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist agenda. In fact, it is one of the few issues nationally that has widespread support from all sides. Jeff is working hard to get a constitutional amendment passed that would overturn the Supreme Court decision in “Citizens United vs the Federal Election Commission.” If and when the amendment passes it will then have to be ratified by 3/4 of the states. While that seems like more than an uphill battle, if 80% of American people are against corporations being treated like people, ratification should be possible.
There have been a few times in my life when I have been viscerally aware of the need to speak up, get involved and not settle for defeat. This is one of those times and one of those issues. Our democratic process was hijacked when the Supreme Court made their ruling and it must be overturned if we are to have any semblance of a democracy left. We all have a great deal on our plates as we struggle to make ends meet, maintain healthy habits, work on relationships, nurture our spiritual lives and try to live each day as though it is our last. When you are making choices about what to get involved in and what to leave for other people, I hope you will consider the devastating effects this has had and will continue to have on our country if we let it go unchallenged. Please check out what you can do through “Free Speech for People” or by reading Jeff’s book. Discover what your state is doing to insist that corporations are not people and should not be afforded the same rights as people. Together, we can still rescue our hijacked democracy.