Last month I seemed lost. My memoir, From Camden to Kathmandu, was getting no traction. After working for years for peace and justice, I was beginning to believe that Trump would gain total control and our democracy was on its deathbed. Feeling disconnected, I dropped out of my men’s group. 

That feeling of disconnection ran deeper than I let on. Despite decades of political organizing, I was struggling to figure out what I could do that might actually make a difference. Supporting candidates this fall was essential, but not sufficient. The real problem is still the unchecked power of money in our politics. That elephant-in-the-room hasn’t been addressed. In fact, it keeps growing all the time.

Over ten years ago, I wrote Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See www.breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.) to alert Americans to how huge sums of money in politics is corrupting our democracy. The 2010 Citizens United decision by the US Supreme Court found corporations are people. That ruling gave corporations the same rights as we all have, including the right to spend unlimited funds on elections.

In my book, I illustrated how massive donations from major corporations make a great many of our representatives, both federal and state, beholden to their donors rather than to the voters who elected them. That is the essence of the Big Money problem.

Then, a few weeks ago, I felt lightning strike. Suddenly, an effective strategy to break Big Money’s grip on our nation appeared. I feel this new approach to the money in politics problem can bring a great majority of Americans together. A recent poll found that 72% of voters believe there’s too much money in politics. (See https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/09/poll-americans-say-too-much-money-in-politics-00912455.) Maybe together we can fix this mess we’re in.

Last week, Hawaii passed legislation (See https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/hawaii-governor-signs-first-of-its-kind-2999322/) to put a stop to this outrageous distortion of our political system. That law redefines corporations as artificial entities, rather than as people. Since corporations are created and granted their powers by the state where they were established, Hawaii has the power to prevent corporations from spending money directly on election campaigns or ballot measures. And so do all states have this power over the corporations created under their laws.

We no longer need a Constitutional Amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision. We, the people, have the power to take back our right to elect legislators who will represent our interests, rather than those of Big Money. Here in New Mexico, we need to get to work and lobby our state legislature to enact a law like Hawaii’s new statute. And, at the same time, bring people together to form a national movement to persuade other states to do so as well.

Bruce Berlin

bruceberlin45@gmail.com Follow me on Substack at https://substack.com/@openroadopenheart

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