Taking Political Action at the Grocery Store

Taking Political Action at the Grocery Store Source: Juliasmath.com I don’t get it.   How does my quick trip for milk and toilet paper have anything to do with politics?   Well unfortunately for us middle class citizens, money is a synonym for power here in the land of the free.   Many wealthy business owners take the reigns on political campaigns by playing expensive roles in the governmental game.   Creepily enough, we are supporting these executives indirectly and often without knowing.   In small bits, we fiscally contribute to their capital capacity in the salary sword fight that is our campaign process.   The most widely known example of this operation is the Koch Brothers.   This particular duo and many other companies with powerful executives are behind a number of products that we procure.   A few useful websites (links placed below) illustrate retail industries and their corresponding political affiliations and contributions. Unfortunately, it can be a bit distasteful to correlate the often-ignored topic of politics to the simple undertakings and pleasures in our lives.   Starbucks and Build-A-Bear executives voted blue in the 2008 election while Domino’s and Chevron voted red.   Is a loyal pumpkin spice latte drinker endorsing the political philosophy of the Starbucks main man?   That is up to you to decide.   Research will lead you to discover how much and in what ways your favorite product executives participate. At the end of the day we live in a society where ignorance is bliss.   We avoid hot political topics because they demand awareness and realization.   We prefer to ignore unfortunate truths if it requires too much personal effort.   A good first step is enlightenment.   Let us at least recognize the irony in a radical liberal buying Angel Soft toilet paper (a Koch Brother product) in bulk.  We may not have the fiscal power of millionaire executives but we can use cognitive power to combat their covert affairs. http://www.goodguide.com/contributions http://retailindustry.about.com/od/famousretailers/a/retailpolitics.htm