opednews op eds 10/28/2016 at 10:15:27 can any u.s. president ever overcome the power of the establishment and bring substantive change to america? license dmca we're finally approaching the end of this long, drawn-out, and very boring process of electing this country's next president. millions upon millions of americans are backing either hillary clinton or donald trump in the hope that she or he will bring long-awaited, substantive change to this government and this country. they have been waiting, fervently hoping to finally see some individual who possesses great courage, strong leadership skills, and a deep sense of ethics and morals, become president; and to use the power of the presidency to take this country in an entirely new direction, with a government that adheres to the will of the people. unfortunately, it doesn't look like either of the two current candidates possesses those qualities and characteristics in abundance sometime in the future we may see such an individual emerge. what kind of real substantive change am i talking about? well in the latter half of the 20 th century we saw major accomplishments made during the tenures of various presidents, such as sending a man to the moon, together with important advancements in medicine, science and technology, as well as the creation and development of the internet. those were very significant achievements but not the kind of substantive changes that greatly impacted the direction of this country. the kind of change of which i speak would be more like the enactment of the civil rights act of 1964 or the creation of the medicare and medicaid health care systems in 1965; and in years past, the social security system. here's the type of change this country and society needs as we navigate the 21 st century. first and foremost we need to see very ambitious government/business efforts and programs to create millions jobs for americans. that would help greatly to reinvigorate the middle class and jumpstart our sluggish economy; it would also result in significant reductions in the number of americans who are dependent on food stamps and other forms of government welfare. - advertisement - such a program should include the repair and modernization of our deteriorating national infrastructure, the development of solar and wind power, and the creation of a universal health care system that would finally cover all americans at much lower costs. we need substantive changes in the way we deal with rampant violence in this country; this problem has been escalating and its way past time that something were done to curtail the proliferation and illegal use of guns that are slaughtering far too many of our innocent fellow americans. but so far the government and, in particular, this congress, has refused to address this situation because of the power wielded by the gun industry and the nra. that continued governmental vacillation combined with nra obstructive tactics must not be allowed to continue. a large majority of americans would like to see real, substantive changes such as those identified above put into effect; and all of them are clearly doable. however, that's just not happening because there is a massive, seemingly immovable object standing in the way. that object of obstruction is, of course, the establishment, which is diametrically opposed to any such progress because its own objectives clash with those of the people. it is very difficult and virtually impossible for any president to overcome the power of this establishment because of what i refer to as the circle of power and control that exists in washington; here's how this ultra-powerful, self-perpetuating circle operates; - advertisement - at the seat of this power is corporate america which uses monumental amounts of $$$ to influence and control our elections so that a large majority of elected senators and representatives return to the congress time and again; not to advance the needs of the people but, rather, the interests and objectives of corporate america. we might refer to these politicians as indentured servants. the corporatists want to slash corporate taxes to further increase profits, to significantly water down the regulations and restrictions on the banking industry., they support the lobbyists and special interest groups that have infiltrated this congress and are, not only greatly influencing the enactment of legislation, but are often actually writing it. congress has, as a very top priority, the ongoing funding of the massive military-industrial complex, i.e., the pentagon, the cia, the state and "defense" departments, and the defense industry corporations which produce the machinery of war. too many taxpayer dollars that should be used to strengthen this country's deteriorating foundations are, instead, directed to the military establishment to maintain its huge empire of bases and installations all over the world, to conduct invasions and occupations of other nations, and to remove elected leaders and/or dictators in various countries.
can any u.s. president ever overcome the power of the establishment and bring substantive change to america?
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