in Civil Rights, Government, Religion, Society 434 Words

IST Op-Ed: The Personhood Trap

Opinion from the desk of IST Editor

This could be a post about the issues that conservs tried to get on a couple of votes but were soundly defeated……but alas that is NOT what this one is all about…..

I am sure that many of us know full well what the hoopla is all about in SCOTUS…..in case you do not….a couple of corporations are suing Obamacare because they do not want to pay for employees contraceptives on religious grounds.  It is a personhood question.  Are corporations the same as the person?

We know that SCOTUS has said that corporations are persons when it comes to political campaign contributions……that would have been the “Citizens United” ruling….and now a similar question is before the court…..can corporations violate a law on the grounds of the owners religious beliefs?

Before I begin….I would like to say that I may get some grief on what I think…..but I am willing to take it……my conclusion is logical and well thought out….at least I think so and since I am the author of this post….it must be true.

I have mixed emotions about the upcoming ruling by SCOTUS in June…….will they find that a corporation can dictate an individual’s choices or will they do the right thing and end all this speculation?

Like I said…I am torn….on the one hand I do not think corporations should be treated as a person…….and on the other…..I would like to see them rule in favor of Hobby Lobby and the other in the lawsuit…..I know….why on earth would I wish for that?

It would make the corporations on the same footing as a person and if so should be treated like a person when a crime is committed….instead of letting them off with impotent fines they would be sentenced as a person…..jail time and fines….restitution………etc………whatever the penalty is for us mere mortals they in turn would be charged and treated as such……..it is beyond time for these entities to be held responsible for their actions and crimes.

If I get that wish then many women will be screwed….that part I do not like……..and the fact that a corporation could force its employees to buy into their religious beliefs………. just sucks.

I wish I could venture a guess on the ruling……..but it is too close to call…..will women retain their right to personal decisions or will the corporation become a person?

June will hold the answer.

15 thoughts on “IST Op-Ed: The Personhood Trap”

  1. It isn’t a tough question. Corporations are no more people than a rock is a fish. Corporations don’t die, they have no feelings, no body, no soul, and no intention except to make money; which is not real.

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    1. A corporation’s proper role in society is as a second class citizen for the purposes of lawmaking and taxes. They don’t have human rights. They are the should be our faithful commercial servants. Instead they are our faithless overlords and we are the second class citizens.

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    2. I agree completely…all I am saying is this could make these toads responsible and have to pay the price of their corruption..

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      1. I hear you. The responsibility is difficult down on a corporate level. Who do we put in prison, the whole company? You see, it’s best to try individuals involved in corporate malfeasance than corporations themselves by my thinking.

      2. CEO is the corporation and if they are held responsible it would go a long way to evening things out…..

      3. I doubt it quite sincerely my friend. The problem isn’t just at the top, it’s the attitude all the way down. Healing will come from the bottom I think, not the top. That’s you and me Chuq!

      4. Usually I would agree but today there seems to be few that care what you or I think…..we cannot afford their attention…..

      5. Understood and agreed. Don’t give up hope. Progress is still within reach. I recon I have worthwhile ideas to make things better for everyone. as do you. 🙂

      7. It is good to know there are warriors in this world still instead of only soldiers (Soul-diers). I stand at your side Chuq.

  2. chuq….
    I’m not sure, but, you may have missed something in your assessment here…. If my understanding of the law is correct, corporations were first given the rights of “personhood” in the mid-nineteenth century, when a Federal Court about two steps down from SCOTUS in the Federal court system, whose judge was an avowed “honest” judge, made a ruling that gave his corporate sponsors (definition of “an honest judge, or politician” is one who STAYS bought….) that right in a case of that era, involving a company and an individual in a dispute over property of some sort… I forget the exact case details….but….

    Since then, all the laws made at the federal level have had to take this precedent into account, as have the federal courts, resulting ultimately in the Citizen’s United decision, based on that precedent from a corrupt judge over 160 years ago, which allows the existence of Super PAC’s to coordinate the funding for all the lobbying and election manipulation the shadowy corporate “persons” are now free to use to exert their influence on Congress, SCOTUS, and the White House itself….

    So, the upcoming decision takes on a new light, one that shows it as one more critical indicator of the direction our society will take from here, at least on one political front, if not more… Actually, if personhood is denied, it will create ripples in the fabric of our culture that could conceivably lead it into another period of extreme confusion…. As if we weren’t all confused enough already, right?….

    Good post, amigo, very thought provoking…. I hope for the best in all this, but am prepared for the worst; I find it saves on disappointment….

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    1. Like I said…mixed emotions…..I do not want some company/person making me live within their religious constraints but on the other hand….maybe we could punish thieves like Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan and his ilk. With jail time maybe corporations will act more humane….just a thought…….chuq

      Reply

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