Much of America is watching Maine’s success with our Clean Election campaign. The basic concept is that we the people are responsible for determining our fate.

That founding concept is now grievously threatened by seemingly limitless money poured in by corporate and special interests, some of it from well outside our borders.

Now hold that thought, and consider the secret Trans Pacific Partnership trade “agreement” being negotiated behind closed doors.

It is the poster child for the global corporatism movement in all its cancerous manifestations. Recent leaks have confirmed the worst fears of well-informed observers. TPP threatens our sovereign rights to conduct the business of our democracy unimpeded by forces beyond our borders

Our informed leadership recognizes the dual threats of big money corrupting our elections at all levels on one hand and writing powerful global trade policy on the other. It’s rooted in the same pathology that caused the Great Depression and the Great Recession of 2008.

We must unite with our informed leadership to act as a united population of responsible, determined citizens to defeat these dangers to our American way of life. Failing to act now is unacceptable.

The global crash of 2008 was just a precursor of what’s to come if we don’t regain control of our governance.

Getting corporate and special interest money out of our electoral process is a powerful first step, but we must not stop there.

We must constantly make our determination known to our elected officials from now on. It is our primary and abiding duty as American citizens – and we must act now.

Seabury Lyon

Bethel