Our revered ancestors were forced to fight a revolution against a colonial regime and the armies of its home country because they were refused adequate representation and respect. Because of their bloody revolt, we, their descendents, have evolved more humane methods of deposing governmental officials who wield power selfishly and arbitrarily. The vote is one process. The recall is another.

Stripped of its fictions and fanfare, all democracy really does is give ordinary people a few tools to use against perfidious misuse of public office by special interests – and if they are not used, we lose the rights and liberties we do possess. Removal of corrupt, negligent or stupid officials is one of these tools.

The Lower Columbia River is being inundated by mega-corporations that threaten to dominate local politics and economics. This upper left edge of the country seems to be among the last fertile sites for corporate America to penetrate, just as it was the final frontier on the continent for Euro-American civilization to expand to.

Invasion by big business into local communities generally includes such iniquities as secret deals, influence peddling, deceptive treatment of a resident populace, intimidation against public resistance and the corruption of indigenous quislings.

Nearly five years ago, Port of Astoria Commissioners sneaked liquefied natural gas leases past the people, now Warrenton City Council and its mayor play disingenuous peek-a-boo with Walmart. In the instance of LNG, the consequences will be catastrophic to the local environment; Walmart will be no less devastating to local business culture.

The snide deceit of surreptitiously imposing both LNG and Walmart upon us with only a charade of public involvement has been abetted by local officials who appear to hold little respect for their constituencies, and who, of course, yell foul when their duplicity is challenged. The use of the recall is just about the last resort local citizens have to reverse this direction of pure folly.

Incursion of corporate cash-register politics has deeply divided our communities. Whether we want it or not, we are pawns in a ruthless worldwide culture war of resource plunder and profit that pits local communities against corporate octopi that are implacably unsympathetic to the concerns of people and places they ravage.

We are enduring at a neighborhood level the same mode of corporate subversion that permeates Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court.

If anyone looks closely enough and connects the dots, they would probably discover the identical klepto-cult of speculation, corruption and fraud that brought the nation’s economy to financial collapse, which has impoverished and made jobless and homeless millions of Americans.

MICHAEL PAUL McCUSKER

Astoria