The next Cafe Society on May 3 will discuss “How the current national election campaigns expose the excessive role that big money plays in American politics.” On the eve of primary elections, there is fresh new insight and growing frustration over the obfuscating role that constant focus on fund raising plays.

These informal weekly discussions are held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. in the Rumsey Room of the Shepherd University Student Center each Tuesday morning. Pre-registration is not required and there are no fees.

Cafe facilitator Mike Austin said, “There is growing disillusionment on the part of many Americans that our political process bears little resemblance to the well ordered and credible mechanism that in the past has enabled the average citizen to play a meaningful role in fulfilling his or her civic responsibilities. We are in effect being marginalized, relegated to a comparatively insignificant role by a small wealthy minority that is able to dominate the campaigns. We continue to see the adverse impact of the Supreme Court decision in “Citizen United” which gave corporations the ability to play a dominating role in our democracy.

He added, “In this transparent globalized world that we now live in, it is disheartening to see our nation floundering, consumed by greed that pervasively intrudes into every aspect of our culture. Important national leadership positions can and are in effect simply being bought, sold out to those individuals or entities that can seize and retain a financial edge. In too many cases, in order to survive and salvage some face-saving role in the new governments that will assume office after the election, they will be forced to accept the conditions that the new power brokers will dictate. We are deceiving ourselves to think that these new political elites, once empowered, legitimized by the very process they have subverted, will set appropriate priorities and serve the interests of more than a small portion of our society. The consequences loom large as American families struggle to achieve the quality of life and security they once thought was their heritage their “manifest destiny.” Shame on us, if we can’t rise to the occasion and reassert ourselves with a sustained groundswell of critical, involvement that will show that American democracy is not simply for sale to the highest bidder.”

Those with suggestions

for future topics or who want more information may contact Austin at 304-876-0598 or michael.austin@frontiernet.

net.