“The cost of our empire of illusion is not being paid by the corporate titans. It is being paid on the streets of our inner cities, in former manufacturing towns, and in depressed rural enclaves. This cost transcends declining numbers and statistics and speaks the language of human misery and pain. Human beings are not commodities. They are not goods. They grieve and feel despair. They raise children and struggle to maintain communities. The growing class divide is not understood, despite the glibness of many in the media, by complicated sets of statistics, lines on a graph that chart stocks, or the absurd, utopian faith in unregulated globalization and complicated trade deals. It is understood in the eyes of a man or woman who is no longer making enough money to live with dignity and hope.”—Chris Hedges, Empire of Illusion, Chapter V: The Illusion of America, (pp. 159-160)
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To read the full article, please click on the following link.
clearpolitics 
Here is a recent debate about electoral reform you might find useful:
Thanks Deb! (I have posted a link to fairvote.ca on this blog.)