The recent Supreme Court decision, in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, ought to be very alarming to every citizen of the United States.

It is a deeply unsettling case, considering it essentially rids federal law of any bans whatsoever on the amount of money corporations and unions can spend to support a political candidate. How can these justices live with the paradox of allegedly upholding our beloved first amendment — the right to free speech — while simultaneously giving corporations and unions an unfair advantage?

In effect, what the court is saying is that people with the greatest amount of money are allowed a greater degree of freedom of speech than the average citizen.

The key criterion underlying free speech is no longer one’s actual voice (last time I checked a corporation has no vocal chords of its own), but rather, the size of one’s pockets. We should all be disturbed that the one branch of the federal government that is designed to be free of political influence, the Supreme Court, has forfeited our rights even further to the specter of special interest groups.

Unless something is done quickly and collectively, it is difficult to imagine what the future of this country will be. With the balance in favor of corporate interests, what kind of domestic and foreign policy decisions will be made? It’s clear that the kind of power that corporations would be able to wield if this decision is left untouched is massive; their disproportionate control of the media could influence the minds and thus the votes of countless Americans.

Prior to this decision, corporations and unions were indeed allowed to donate to a political candidate. However, it was at least partly regulated. Yet as a result of this decision, with unlimited donations, it is frightening to fathom what sort of corruption and bribery is likely to ensue.

This decision seems only to encourage corporate infiltration of our political system. We cannot let the balance of this nation tip toward a plutocracy. It is clearer than ever that special interest forces are working incessantly against any sort of domestic reforms. Of course, they want to maintain control in their ivory towers, but we mustn’t let them degrade our inalienable rights.

In a way it’s not surprising, since those in cushy seats of power have always tended to fear any sort of empowerment of the people, specifically the kind of power inherent in free speech.

Let us not stand idly by while our rights are slowly taken away from us. Either call your own congressman/congresswoman or call Congresswoman Nita Lowey in Washington, D.C., who has been receiving many complaints already ((202) 225-6506), and, consequently, has both posted her own opinion on the matter and has called for legislation to amend this disgraceful decision.

There’s a lot at stake.