Greed and fear are the two most powerful human emotions, which helps explain the conversion of crises consuming the world today. Unfortunately, many public servants have aligned themselves with the greedy side of the equation. As such, they are stoking fear among the masses for power and profit. It’s a proven formula.

In my humble opinion, corruption is the single biggest problem in the world today. Corruption knows no borders and it knows no bounds. As an American citizen, I will focus the conversation on the corrupt system that I know best. It’s a system that has put private interests above national interests since day one. It has cleverly concealed the charade under the guise of capitalism and democracy and it has spread this doctrine around the world. It has destroyed healthy democracies around the world for corporate gain for more than 100 years.

The United States touts itself as the motherland of capitalism and free-market economics. It’s a myth to help cloak a fascist agenda.

The difference between fascism and capitalism is a bribe.

Will lawmakers who have never accepted an outright bribe please stand up. How about a campaign contribution? Dark money and politics don’t mix. The only way to restore democracy and free-market capitalism is to take money out of politics. When lawmakers begin serving citizens again, we might be able to save this great nation, but time is running out. The fascists among us are more than happy to take our nation into bankruptcy to overthrow the constitution. They will hold the flag in one hand and a bible in the other as they defend America from itself. Of course, to save America from itself, they will have to privatize everything from national parks and public lands to the postal system.

Despite the mass privatization, the government will insist that we subsidize these hero corporations who assumed custody of our nation’s assets. This is crisis capitalism. This is fascism. The United States wrote the book on the subject over the pasty century. We perfected it under President Reagan and his favorite economist—Milton Friedman. Naomi Klein did an amazing job of documenting these plots in a brave book called “Shock Doctrine.” It’s a must read for every American citizen and any defender of democracy. It’s a powerful filter that helps us sort through the lies.

With all of that said, here comes the 2020 election. Four years ago, Trump threatened to drop out of the race because “this is a rigged system.” Almost as soon as those words left his lips, the tide began turning his way. He knocked off a long list of Republican presidential candidates to secure the nomination. Even though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, the Electoral College stepped in to do its dirty work. They handed the election to team Trump. Of course, Trump praised the brilliance of the Electoral College and the vision of its creators. It helped transform this loser into a winner.

So, with this as the backdrop, does voting by citizens really matter? Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only American to serve four terms. He died in office in 1945. While in office, Roosevelt claimed that presidents in the U.S. “aren’t elected—they are selected.” He would no better than anyone. In fact, he saw the Republican Party force Harry Truman on the Roosevelt ticket in 1945. Former Vice President, Henry A. Wallace was deemed too liberal, despite enormous support from Roosevelt and the American people.

Truman assumed the presidency upon Roosevelt’s death, which took the presidency and the nation a completely different direction. Under Truman, the U.S. dropped hydrogen bombs on Japan and started the Cold war with the Soviet Union, including the decades-long arms race, which bled both countries to death to develop nuclear arsenals.

President Eisenhower apparently witnessed the change in government culture under his predecessor. On Jan. 17, 1961, after serving two terms as president, President Dwight Eisenhower gave the nation a dire warning about what he described as a threat to democratic government. He called it the military-industrial complex, a formidable union of defense contractors and the armed forces. Eisenhower, a retired five-star Army general, the man who led the allies on D-Day, made the remarks in his farewell speech from the White House.

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist,” Eisenhower said.

Eisenhower was worried about the costs of an arms race with the Soviet Union, and the resources it would take from other areas — such as building hospitals and schools. Corporations didn’t realize they could make just as much money on those projects.

“Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of ploughshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions,” he said.

According to Eisenhower and others, the U.S. government was blowing dangerously off course. Risks to our constitution were not just from foreign states any longer. A dangerous domestic agenda was in motion. It has become more entrenched each and every year since. Democracy and free-market capitalism are becoming a distant memory. Taxation without representation isn’t just a theory.

Today, Eisenhower has a fan in Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Speaking at the Eisenhower Library last year, Gates talked about America’s insatiable appetite for more and more weapons.

“Does the number of warships we have, and are building, really put America at risk, when the U.S. battle fleet is larger than the next 13 navies combined — 11 of which are our partners and allies? Is it a dire threat that by 2020, the United States will have only 20 times more advanced stealth fighters than China? These are the kinds of questions Eisenhower asked as commander-in-chief. They are the kinds of questions I believe he would ask today,” Gates said. Similar questions could be asked about the militarization of our nation’s police and their escalating budgets over the past two decades.

With so much on the line, America’s competitive and inclusive two-party system is set to defend the free world in the upcoming election. Both party’s suppressed competition to create this historic matchup between “The Donald” and Old Joe. Ironically, team Trump paints Biden as a socialist. For some reason, team Biden refuses to call Trump and his cult fascists.

Meanwhile, the Electoral College is in full play. Despite a warning from the Supreme Court that these electors could face punishment if they don’t cast their votes in good faith to represent the wishes of their districts (who developed this anti-democratic system). In other words, the nation admits that the Electoral College has stolen elections and can still do so. But now, anyone who sells out the nation will get a slap on the wrist. That’s quite a threat. Commit treason, interfere with an election and collect your paycheck from the Dark Side. They don’t need to kill the US Postal Service to steal an election from the citizens.

Now, let’s move on to the racial tensions in America. Talk about a national disgrace. This nation is built on lies that must be addressed. Many in this country, especially, the elected officials, fancy themselves as god-fearing, reverent and compassionate people. Unfortunately, we have a White House and a cult following who believe that it’s more important to defend government buildings, flags and confederate monuments than most American citizens. He’s quicker to defend Russia’s Putin than he is America or Americans. Russia clearly has grabbed America by the puss.

Ironically, Trump is trying to desperately brand himself as the law-and-order president, while causing chaos. He surrounds himself with criminals and then pardons them as they get busted for high crimes. The law-and-order president thumbs his nose at public requests for his tax returns. According to his own family, he has lied and cheated his entire life, while living above the law. Meet the Teflon Don. In my opinion, the fraud against America continues today.

Our forefathers were tax-evaders, kidnappers, land-grabbers and murderers. We told the British Empire to f*ck off over taxes. We stole this country from those who were here before us. We kidnapped people from their families in Africa and forced them to build this country with no pay and no equity. After fighting a civil war over the matter, we supposedly gave slaves their freedom, hope and betrayal.

The Civil War never ended for our brothers and sisters. The nation moved on and left them behind whenever possible. Treatment of Native Americans has been equally abusive. Lies, murder, theft, kidnapping and more. It’s more than a stain on our country. It’s a pattern of criminality that has been ignored by Democrats and Republicans alike forever. Will a presidential change really change anything? Obama had eight years, but here we are still fighting progress on race, corruption and fascism. Now, we have a government that has mismanaged a pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 Americans. So much for homeland defense.

In the late 1800s, Americans lured Chinese citizens to California to invest in the mining industry. When they outperformed their American counterparts, we changed the laws, stole their mines and forced them to start over in new industries or to become laborers.

When forced to stop those abusive practices, Americans found new ways to take advantage of these children of a lesser God, while convincing ourselves that we were on a mission of manifest destiny. The crimes against humanity continue today, but many among us have found ways to justify the abuse and discrimination. Abuse, brutality and discrimination are not limited to people of color. Obviously, people are willing to sew division among classes, sexes, religions, regions and more. We don’t need taxpayer dollars being used to fan the flames of that chaos, especially, during the pandemic. Our government has betrayed, abused and discriminated against people of color for decades, while spewing the gospel of freedom, liberty, opportunity and justice.

I applaud the athletes and celebrities who are standing up (or kneeling) and speaking out. Silence is acceptance. The institutional racism that we are witnessing in the U.S. is being fueled by the institutional fascism in this nation. Of course, there are those who are filled with hate who are jumping on the bandwagon. There also are plenty of agitators who are using protests to spark violence against protestors. The cowardly Illinois boy who drove to Kenosha, Wisconsin with his AR-15 is the most recent example. He killed two people. In my opinion, there is an underground network that is encouraging and rewarding killer cops and their clones.

Speaking about corruption, let’s talk about the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s go back to January. I’m fairly sure that I had the bug. I just rode it out assuming it was the same old thing, but it knocked me down like never before. I’m still feeling some of the symptoms from last January (I saw a doctor after the fact, but they weren’t offering COVID tests, yet). Wicked stuff. I live in Tempe, AZ, which is where the U.S. announced the first case on U.S. soil, a few weeks after my bout. I firmly believe that the virus was on U.S. soil earlier than January. I don’t believe that it started in Wuhan, China. I’ll leave that nugget alone for now. I think it started in the U.S. and China was the proverbial red herring.

Meanwhile, when there were supposedly just a few cases of the coronavirus in China, the entire world went on alert. Sure enough, those few exploded into millions of cases and trillions of dollars of taxpayer support. Today, we are surrounded by millions of cases, but global leaders now feel more secure than when there were just a few.

Our fearless leader has sold us on the virtues of chloroquine over and over again. He is looking into the efficacy of consuming Clorox and Lysol to give our bodies a good scrubbing. We have been told that the virus will just go away and that “it is what it is.”  We have seen Dr. Fauci attacked. We have seen environmental regulations, including clean air regulations, attacked and overturned. Under Trump’s leadership, the U.S. now leads the world in total cases and deaths. To quote The Donald, “I’m not responsible for anything.”

Meanwhile, officials in the Trump administration told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to discourage people without symptoms from being tested for COVID-19. Dr. Fauci didn’t approve the plan. He was in surgery at the time.

President Trump has long complained that the U.S. does too much testing—returning high numbers of infections make him look bad. With such logic, we should quit testing for cancer and diabetes. Admittedly, testing has its limitations as a tool, but it is part of the arsenal. Making people wait in line for hours to get a test and then making them wait up to three weeks for the results is insane. This scenario is a total waste of time and resources. If a person receives a negative test after three weeks, it’s meaningless. That person could have been exposed since that test. By the time a person receives a positive test, they could have sparked a super-spreader event.

Speaking of corruption, let’s talk about climate change. It’s unfortunate that our nation’s energy policy has been written by the energy industry for decades. We can’t expect the profiteers to care about people or planet. It’s unfortunate that our policymakers have subsidized the fossil fuel industry with billions of dollars every year for decades. It has undermined free-market mechanisms that would have expedited the development of alternative energy. Meanwhile, dirty fuels, such as oil and coal, have received preferential treatment, which isn’t free-market capitalism. It’s fascism that has hurt people and the planet.

The warming of the planet doesn’t seem to have increased the frequency of hurricanes. But it has increased their severity. Storms draw their energy from the ocean, and warmer water provides more energy. Warmer and drier air, in turn, can carry more water, which increases rainfall and flooding. Since the 1990s, the frequency of extreme hurricanes — either Category 4 or 5 — has roughly doubled in the Atlantic Ocean. No single storm is solely a result of climate change, of course. Yet climate change is leading to more storms like Laura.

Meanwhile, droughts and fires in the West rage on. Each year, it’s getting worse. The memories of deep winter snow packs from just two years ago are gone. Food shortages have already kicked in since the COVID-19 pandemic. This combined with climate change will likely create the perfect storm and drive food prices even higher. If you haven’t started a garden, yet, it’s not too late. Be sure to use organic soil and organic fertilizers and supplements. Plants can uptake toxins from the soil, so make your garden as healthy as possible. Plus, the vegetables will taste better if you grow them organically.

Speaking of corruption, the EPA is coming under attack for throwing science under the bus during the Trump administration. Actually, it’s been going on much longer than that. But most recently, it has gutted regulations on clean air, clean water and automobile efficiency. In response, several former EPA Administrators have urged reform on many fronts. It’s long overdue. It can’t go far enough. Of course, the current administration is ignoring the high-caliber critique.

Speaking of corruption, the Pentagon recently announced that the U.S. Navy plans to release some UFO information in the near future. In one fell swoop, it just admitted to 70 plus years of lies to the American public. Lives have been lost in the cover-up and lives have been destroyed. Billions, if not trillions, have been spent and who knows what technology has been privatized and or buried for good.

I have seen several UFOs in the Phoenix valley over the past decade. I’m astonished at how much information is out there. The question is how much of this activity is from extraterrestrial UFOs and how many are UFOs that our military built by reverse engineering captured technology? I recommend watching Hangar 1, Ancient Aliens and Unacknowledged, if you haven’t already. Ironically, President Eisenhower supposedly met with alien leaders at Edwards Air Force base in 1955. Watch Hangar 1 to learn more. All are available on Netflix.

Gary Chandler is the CEO of Crossbow Communications — an award-winning public affairs and government affairs firm. We specialize in public health and environmental issues. We serve the world.

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This year’s Public Affairs Pulse survey examines many topics of interest to the American public, as well as those who follow political and business issues. They include a close look at the creatures and behaviors found in the so-called Washington, D.C., “swamp,” the influence of President Trump’s tweets and his administration’s impact on U.S. companies. 

The poll of 2,200 Americans, conducted in August by Morning Consult, also explored the most trusted sources of political news; sector-specific support for new regulations; and America’s economic, foreign policy and values influence in the world.

Polls have consistently shown that Americans view unethical behavior in Washington, D.C., as one of the country’s biggest problems.

But what exactly are people outraged about? Of 10 distinct behaviors tested, the number-one concern is politicians too worried about getting re-elected, followed by politicians benefiting themselves financially, intense partisanship and politicians spending too much time raising money for their re-elections. In 2018 the Public Affairs Pulse survey was the first poll to study the impact of Trump’s critical tweets. The results showed that only a small percentage of those who read these tweets viewed a company or person more negatively after hearing his assessment of them.

What’s more, Trump’s tweet attacks seemed to have a reverse effect on some people. Our updated analysis validates these conclusions. Once upon a time, the news media was the most trusted source of political news and information — but not anymore. Over the past 12 months, attitudes about the American news media, particularly among Republicans, have become increasingly negative.

More than 50 percent of the public don’t trust the political news they receive from the media. Our examination of America’s economic, foreign policy and values influence in the world also paints a disturbing picture. In all three areas, the public believes the nation’s influence is falling. And finally, while many Americans don’t trust big corporations or the CEOs who run them, they are more likely to believe Trump’s actions have had a negative impact than positive impact on American companies.

If Washington, D.C., is “The Swamp,” what exactly is swampy about it and who is to blame? According to the 2019 Public Affairs Pulse survey, politicians account for the four most serious problems with politics in the nation’s capital. When asked to rate factors contributing to ill will in Washington, Americans most often pointed to elected officials being more concerned about getting re-elected than with making good decisions. Seventy-two percent called this a major problem.

Next in line were politicians using their power and influence to make money for themselves or family members while in office (69 percent), intense partisanship (68 percent) and politicians spending too much time raising cash for their re-elections (62 percent). It turns out that bipartisanship still exists. Democrats and Republicans were almost equally concerned about politicians who don’t make the best decisions because they are worried about getting re-elected. Seventy-five percent of Democrats and 72 percent of Republicans consider this a major problem. Concern about corruption — politicians using their power and influence to make money — was also bipartisan: 73 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Republicans called it a major problem.

Other factors considered negative were the news media’s focus on less important issues (58 percent), politicians using their connections to get high-paying jobs after they leave office (54 percent), super PACs (52 percent) and too many people and groups lobbying to defend their interests or causes (50 percent). Not every issue crossed the 50 percent threshold for being considered a major problem. Forty-eight percent of the public were especially troubled that “good people don’t want to go into politics.” Of the 10 factors rated, the one considered least problematic was the use of PACs by companies, nonprofits and unions to support candidates. Only 39 percent called PACs a major problem.

In a separate question, respondents were asked whether they found specific types of corporate lobbying to be acceptable.

While lobbying in general is often controversial, companies that articulate why they are lobbying meet with the public’s approval — especially if their goal is to protect jobs (62 percent), create a level playing field with competitors (54 percent) or support social causes (53 percent). Only small percentages of respondents said these forms of advocacy were not acceptable. Options for Funding Political Campaigns Seven out of 10 Americans are supportive of self-funded campaigns or political dollars raised from individual citizens.

The next most acceptable form of campaign funding is political action committees (PACs), which are favored by 51 percent of Americans and opposed by only 22 percent. Due to strong support from men and younger voters, favorability of super PACs rose from 37 percent in 2018 to 46 percent this year. At the bottom of the list of options was using federal tax dollars to fund campaigns, a position supported by only 31 percent of Americans and opposed by 51 percent.

The news media is rapidly losing the public’s trust as a source of news and information about politics. Only 39 percent consider it trustworthy, compared with 50 percent who said they trust the media “not too much” or none. Last year 46 percent said it was a trustworthy source of political news and information and only 43 percent disagreed. 

The differences in opinion among Republicans, Democrats and Independents are striking. Democrats still generally trust the news media, with 58 percent saying they trust it at least somewhat and only 32 percent saying they have little or no trust. Just 23 percent of Republicans, however, have at least some trust in the news media and 69 percent have little or no trust. Independents also tend to be negative about the press, with 33 percent having some trust and 50 percent having little or no trust.

Many Rely on ‘Friends and Family’ for Political News

As in 2018, the most trusted source for political news and information was friends and family, with 67 percent saying they trusted this source “some” or “a lot.” Next in line was trade and professional associations with a trust score of 40 percent. In third place was the news media (39 percent), followed by businesses (37 percent), the Democratic Party (36 percent), conservative groups (33 percent), the Republican Party (32 percent), liberal groups (27 percent), social media (27 percent), candidate political campaigns (22 percent) and super PACs (12 percent). 

Trust in social media declined four percentage points since 2018. Age correlates closely with rising distrust in social media — but even 18-29-year-olds are skeptical of social media as a source of political news and information. While one-third (34 percent) of this age group had “some” or “a lot” of trust in social media, 49 percent had “not too much” or “none.” Though trust scores for the Republican Party (32 percent) and conservative groups (33 percent) are almost identical, the Democratic Party (36 percent) scores markedly higher than liberal groups (27 percent). In fact, only one-third of Democrats said they trust liberal groups as a source of political news and information.

America Facing Loss of Global Influence

While many Americans believe the U.S. government has global influence through its economic policies, foreign policies and promotion of values, that influence appears to be waning. Not surprisingly, Trump supporters believe the nation’s influence in each of these areas is increasing while Trump opponents feel otherwise. 

Overall, 38 percent say the government still has a great deal of economic influence on a global scale, but 35 percent believe that influence is decreasing and only 27 percent say it is increasing. Similarly, 31 percent state that the U.S. has a great deal of influence in promoting its foreign policy, but 34 percent believe it is decreasing. Just 26 percent say it is increasing. Twenty-eight percent say the U.S. government has a great deal of influence promoting values such as freedom and democracy abroad, but far more people believe that influence is on the decline (36 percent) rather than on the rise (22 percent).

Favorability of major companies rose slightly from 46 percent in 2018 to 48 percent in 2019, with 38 percent saying they have an unfavorable opinion. Trump supporters gave major companies higher scores (59 percent favorability) than did Trump opponents (41 percent). Small business favorability continues to be high (85 percent) while non-favorability is only 5 percent. 

Industry sectors considered least trustworthy include pharmaceuticals (60 percent), health insurance (53 percent), banks (37 percent), energy (34 percent) and technology (27 percent). Distrust of pharmaceutical firms is greatest among older Americans, with 74 percent of those age 65 and older saying drug companies are less trustworthy than other companies.

There is also a correlation between age and distrust of technology firms. As recently as 2017, technology was tied for the most trustworthy of the nine sectors rated and only 18 percent of the public thought it was less trustworthy than average. This year food and beverage companies received the top score for trustworthiness.

Gary Chandler is the CEO of Crossbow Communications — an award-winning public affairs and government affairs firm. We specialize in public health and environmental issues. We serve the world.

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