People Must ORGANIZE to Force Elites 

to Be Accountable to Them

A central aim of grassroots democracy is to hold members of local elites--mayors, school superintendents, police chiefs, developers, etc.--accountable for their actions to the citizens of the locality.

However, local elites do not operate in a vacuum; they are nodes in a larger network of governments, business interests, and militaries.  Because of this, grassroots democracy must also incorporate their activities with larger networks above the local level.  These networks must be strengthened, extended, and multiplied.

American elites, including Presidents, federal legislators, judges, bureaucrats, Wall Street bankers, insurance executives, media moguls, the military, and multi-national corporations make decisions every day that have a massive impact on our lives.  They have this impact not only as separate entities, but as interlocking networks.  This multiplies their power.  In the present circumstances of the world, this amount of power is unprecedented.  

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."  Lord John Dalton Action may have written that in 1887, but it is more true now than in any earlier era.  And the stakes are much higher.  Wars proliferate (and the US business elites profit from them), the greed of bankers ruins the financial lives of millions of people, global weather change threatens millions more because corporate elites do not want to pay for pollution prevention, and the threat of nuclear explosions by terrorists or militaries continues.  The power of the world's elites, led by Americans, and their quest for more profit and power is so vast that they have the potential for ending life as we know it.

The BP oil rig explosion and extractor rupture is only one example.  Although BP has spent millions on a public relations campaign to cover up the damage, not only has the event continuing to damage the Gulf of Mexico and neighboring areas, but if the rupture had not been capped, the scientific community warned that the oil could spread out of the Gulf and into the Atlantic, putting the fish population (and the humans that depend upon them) at risk.

Another example, though one that US media rarely mentions, is the 30-year devastation of the Niger Delta by Shell Oil.  Now, the US media rarely mentions this, because it and most Americans just do not care about Black Africans, so tragedies affecting them are not seen in the same way as bad things that happen to "real human beings" (white people, especially Americans).  Besides, we Americans value our oil supply far more than human beings (especially if they are black- or brown-skinned).  To see a glimpse of what Shell has done, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejym4mKelhM&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmI3xjZk_y0 .

In other words, geo-cide is a possibility, and greed-caused catastrophic events are inevitable.  Why?  Because of corporate greed and citizen inaction, which has resulted in a practical end to America as a democratic republic, and the creation of a plutocracy.  With laws passed under the excuse of the "War on Terror," citizens' rights have never been less secure, and we are becoming "one nation, under surveillence."  The next step is full-blown fascism.

Our only hope in avoiding such things is to ORGANIZE.  The Muslim Democratic Action Network is committed to teaching and motivating Muslims and non-Muslims to work together to reclaim America.  www.muslimaction.net