Dear Sir,

I recently had the opportunity to view some photographs of the United States Constitution. I couldn't help but to notice how this old document had became faded over time, almost to the point where it is illegible. I had to ask myself if the relevance of this document is also disappearing from our sight. I think this is a valid question that anyone who truly loves this country should be asking themselves, especially in these times.

A quick study of the preamble of this sacred text sums up what our founding fathers set out to create for this young republic.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

This Constitution, this government was established for the People. But today, to our detriment it is the large corporations who through soft money and their lobbyists dictate the direction of this government. The simple truth behind this statement is that if, for example, a special interest group donates $100,000.00 to a candidate, rest assured, they own that candidate.

A case in point is the need for a nationalized health care plan that works for the people. In 2004 the health care industry, knowing that billions of dollars of profits were at stake, spent 325 million dollars on lobbying to insure the status quo. Meanwhile more and more of the people have to choose between prescription drugs and food.

Those in Washington owned by the special interests have spent this country into debt to the tune of many trillions of dollars, burdening our children with debt that cannot be paid off. They have all but destroyed our manufacturing base and opened our borders to the multitudes for the sake of cheap labor.

Governments that ignore the welfare of the many for the sake of the few do so at great peril. Two hundred and thirty years ago our founding fathers had a few words to say about governments that ignored the wishes of the governe.

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

We need to alter our present form of government by removing private money from the election process. Publicly funding elections would accomplish this. This is a long overdue first step in returning the power of this government to those who are governed.

In closing I leave you with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, I believe this to be as relevant today as it was 100 years ago when it was first uttered.

"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of today."
~US President Theodore Roosevelt - 1906

Kenneth Backes