Are We Being Manipulated?

I appreciated the letter to the editor of the Herald last week from Sam Kelly, for it thoughtfully addressed the rift alive in the minds of the American people concerning the role of government. Maintenance of a genuine dialog is of the utmost importance to insure that our best ideas are the ones we use to govern ourselves.
Kelly believes that the Americans are being manipulated by wealthy and influential people via disingenuous references to God, home and country. There may be some truth in what he says, but I can state with certainty that they are not manipulating me.
At my age, I have seen enough of life to have formulated my own opinions based upon what I have seen work and not work. Further, I don’t think the American people, by and large, can be manipulated either. I think we possess sufficient common sense that enables us not to be fooled for long.
Because we possess the right of free speech, we are always discussing the issues, and from this a majority opinion is formed.
Kelly believes that the tea party movement is not a grass-roots effort, but is funded by billionaires to protect the wealthy.
Billionaires may be heavily at work here, and their motivations may or may not be patriotic; how can we know? But their money cannot make the American people buy ideas contrary to their sense of what’s right.
Take talk radio as an example. The talk radio, which thrives, are those which promote self-reliance, limited government, budgetary responsibility, and reliance on God. Few of those, which don’t promote these values, stay in business, because they fail to gather enough of a listening audience.
Kelly expresses concern about what he views as an assault on America’s social programs and infrastructure projects which have made us a great nation. He talks of how government-sponsored education has enabled his family to become contributors to our nation.
I believe that most would agree with him, that much of what our government does is valuable, indeed indispensable. What I see people clambering for, however, is frugal government, and which respects the will of the majority, as expressed through our representatives, not one in which our representatives are coerced into knuckling under to the will of party leaders.
And finally, are the rich getting richer at the expense of the middle class? Could or should they be paying for more of the cost of the government which is enabling them to become rich? Perhaps so. Rich people amass the resources, which provide work for others. At what point do rich people start to enslave the masses, such as the super-rich Carlos Slim of Mexico does to their people?
The answer to that question needs to be sought and changes implemented with caution, so as not to undermine the fabric of our economic structure. Thank you, Mr. Kelly, for you letter.
Art Hall, Publisher