The box office, the ballot box, and consumerism

  Have yo ever heard the phrase, Power to the people? What exactly does that mean, do the working class really have any power? The answer my friends, no matter how frustrated you might be, is a resounding yes!
  As a free people, the most obvious place to flex our political muscle is at the ballot box. But voting, our most important power, is something we have squandered. All of us, no matter our political views have felt unrepresented and frustrated by those who we have helped into that office. But the simple truth is, if you elect someone who is honest and forthright in your mind, the chances that they will do what they promised becomes much greater. It is not uncommon to hear, that he or she is not doing what they promised when they go from candidate to office holder. But for the most part, we have lost this, our greatest power. But this came to be because we are apathetic and lazy, but there is a simple cure to all of this. Take the time to actually, Gasp, read about the candidates! Then it is much easier to separate those who will tell you whatever it is that you want to hear for your vote from those who will at least attempt to make good on those promises. How do you decipher between the two? Choose the candidate who is the more honest, one who really seems to care. You'll find that this isn't as hard as you might think, it only takes a little of your time. So uninvolved are we in this our greatest chance to do things right, that most of us wind up voting for someone who is only adept at reading polls,  making this most serious of choices by political ads designed only to appeal to one segment of any political stance that we have taken, but if only we had invested a little reading first, our votes would mean so much more!. If you vote without any real thought as to who you choose, all of us, whether left or right of the issues is far more likely to see that candidate so and so once they become elected official so and so, will actually not do what it is we elected them for.
  But the power of the people is not just at the voting box, because we as consumers also control business, because no matter the business, whether movies or what it is that is that is made available to us as buyers, in this, as with most everything else, where and how the money is being spent is where all of these businesses, whether small or multi-nationals will sit up and take notice. In this aspect, consumerism, we, as the buyers have the real power! But again, in this also, if we don't use our buying power to bolster those businesses which espouse more closely what it is that we want, and who's core beliefs are closest to ours, then again, we have squandered whatever power we have. You see, this is the true power of the people!