punkfolkrocker - Your suggestions of how the rich elite and the powers that be could go about corrupting a system with no political parties are perfectly reasonable.

To abolish political parties, however, would be a step in the right direction, but not a cure-all. Another step in the right direction would be to fund candidates' campaigns from the public purse...all equally...and at very modest expenditure, rather than the incredible spending than is presently done on political campaigns. Another step in the right direction would be to give ALL candidates equal media coverage, and NOT to allow personal attacks to be made on other candidates, but only to allow clear statements of a candidate's own policy proposals and their ideas about what they would do once in office. Another step in the right direction would be to limit political campaigns to a relatively brief period of time, such as 1 month or 6 weeks.

Canadian election campaigns are already limited to a relatively brief period of time, and it has worked very well. USA election campaigns are stretched out over almost 2 years! And at unbelievable expenditure and unbelievable damage to the mood of the country. That means that only the VERY rich (or their friends...meaning their willing tools) can possibly afford to run for office.

I propose these various ideas, not because I think there's ANY chance of them being adopted in the forseeable future in the USA.

(There isn't.)

But for this reason alone: If I see what I believe is a truth, I speak it. If I see what I believe is a good idea I speak it.

Period.

I am not a Utopian, I am simply someone who points out the existing realities I see around me, and who speaks the truth as I see it regarding alternative possibilities to those realities.

I have no hope, not a shred of hope that the corrupt American political system will ever reform itself, anymore than I'd have had hope of the Nazis or the Romans (in their late declining imperial period) reforming themselves. I believe the USA will end up as they did, bringing itself down to destruction through its own corruption and imperial megalomania, and I hope I'm not anywher near the USA when that finally happens. It may happen slowly. It may happen quickly. But it will happen.

And I will STILL speak the truth as I see it, regardless, because the truth itself deserves to BE spoken for its own sake.

And I would hope that others would do the same.