I no longer recognize this America

The America I know—the people’s America—was a product of the voices of everyday men and women like you and me who demanded to have a say in the workings of their government. They did not accept the oppression of a foreign monarch. Today we are increasingly subject to a new kind of international oppression in the form of free trade agreements.

Advocates of these agreements insist that they break down economic barriers between nations and therefore benefit all, but the fact is that there is a price tag on ‘free’ trade. And that price is the loss of U.S. jobs.

The entities that benefit the most from free trade agreements are transnational corporations. They act exclusively in the interest of profit, not the interest of the people. And yet, our government prioritizes these corporations by signing contracts involving other countries with or without public consent. Meaning that our government doesn’t answer to us anymore, it answers to the corporations!

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is the next of these agreements, and it would open American taxpayers to liability resulting from corporate actions. Where is the freedom in penalizing American citizens for corporate actions in a contract that they never supported, a contract they have never even seen? Senator Murray supports this deal.

Let’s remind our government that we’re still here, we still have a voice and we demand representation. Join me in fighting for fair trade negotiations. Let’s take back what’s ours!

This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 11:44 AM with the headline "I no longer recognize this America."