Pseudo Protests Undemocratic, Hypocritical

Exercising one's right to protest is an important way to ensure government is working for the people.

But when demonstrations are covertly organized by corporations, it hurts democracy.

For example, the American Petroleum Institute, the lobbying arm of the oil industries, requested that energy companies get hundreds of their employees to attend protests aimed at quashing Congress's climate-change bill.

According to Dan Lashof of the National Resources Defense Council, "many groups are attempting to pass off corporate opposition to the bill as a grass-roots uprising."

"Any time a trade association tries to portray their activities as grass-roots activity when it's clearly being orchestrated by corporate headquarters, that raises very serious questions about making sure that the public really understands what is going on."

The same sort of activity is happening with healthcare reform.

The majority of Americans want a public option -- one administered by the government -- for health insurance, but the minority opposition has been disrupting town hall meetings. The hypocrisy and stupidity of these people are apparent when asked if they are on Medicare, a government-run health insurance program. Many are.

I don't think we know yet exactly who is orchestrating such protests, but I wouldn't be surprised if people who had money tied to corporate healthcare had a hand in it.

Speaking of hypocrisy at protests, dozens of men brought guns to an event at which President Barack Obama was speaking yesterday in Phoenix, Ariz. At least two had assault rifles. Somehow, though, their actions were legal. Arizona has an "open carry" law.

Joe Klein, a veteran political reporter now with Time magazine, said: "In 40 years I have never seen anything like this. There is a right to bear arms but there is a right to protect the president."

Ironically four people were arrested in February in California for protesting outside an animal experimenter's house. They allegedly covered their faces with bandannas, chanted and wrote on the sidewalk with chalk. They were charged under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.

So hiding one's face, chanting and writing with chalk equal terrorism.

Bringing an assault rifle to an already heated presidential event equals exercising one's constitutional rights.

We have a lot more protesting to do to get this country moving in a compassionate direction.

(Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.)