Dear Editor,
Americans across the country are saying that they are concerned with the safety of our democracy. But our problem is not only national, it is here in Culver City. Corporations have spent more in this election than ever before—hundreds of thousands of dollars. Their belief is that they can buy the election with daily mailers to our homes to ensure that the candidates that they support will win. There is no chance for civic minded candidates without corporate backing to even play on a field where corporations with unlimited resources are acting as if our votes are for sale.
Democracy is foundationally built by the fabric of our communities which we weave every day. The vitriolic mailings, personal attacks and other fear mongering in the mailings we are receiving, starts to tear apart that fabric. Fear mongering and acts of hatred like the attack against Senator Pelosi’s husband are part of a continuum of creating an ”other” and justifying one’s behavior by dehumanizing those that we do not know. These mailers are part of that continuum.
It is our values that define who we are—I want to believe that Culver City is a city striving for equity, with compassion and humanity as core principles, and a desire to create a thriving democracy in our city. We have a checkered past, but the ability to try and change that. With this election, where corporations think they can buy our vote and where we are normalizing hate speech and personal attacks that smack of racism and inhumanity, I am worried that this election is cutting through our fabric, creating tears that can not be sewn back together and generating fear and hatred. We can be better than that and I hope we will figure out the path to make that be true—and that we can all see the corporate interests trying to divide us and get the candidates that they think they can OWN elected.
Triana Silton
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