Claire Gibbs

Over two and a half centuries ago, Americans’ lives were governed by the British monarchy and Parliament. This elite group of foreigners decided what taxes Americans should pay, imposed trade restrictions, even insisted Americans had to provide housing for British soldiers at their request.

But in 1776 Thomas Jefferson and the signatories of the Declaration of Independence famously declared that each American is endowed by our Creator “…with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” And the right to equal voice in determining how we are to be governed.

Unfortunately, over the past 50 years that vision has evaporated. Public trust in our government has steadily eroded. People mention a number of reasons, but per CBS News, 86% of us cite the influence of money in politics. Much of it is legal, but an increasing amount is coming from dark, hard-to-trace sources both in the U.S. and from foreign countries. A 2024 University of Houston poll found that nine out of 10 voters — from across the political spectrum — agree the influence of money in politics poses a threat to our democracy.

Nearly $16 billion was spent in the 2024 election cycle, more than double the amount spent just a dozen years ago. Open Secrets, an unbiased chronicler of political finance data, says most of it came from billionaires, global corporations, big unions, and the elite donor class – less than 1% of the population. Some might say that’s the modern version of the British aristocracy in the 1700s. And you can be sure that all of this money came with strings attached.

We, the People, feel like we can’t get a seat at the table unless we write a big check. Small businesses are priced out completely. Mid-size businesses are held back. A good example of the problem is the farm bill. Congress typically passes a new one every five or six years, and when this happens campaign donations and lobbying ramp up. As a result, the vast majority of federal subsidies go to the largest ag businesses, while small and midsize farms get left with the scraps.

Maybe the scariest part of the whole problem is that “dark money” is increasingly part of the mix.

This is unaccountable money that pours into our elections from groups that shield the identity of their donors. Most of the dark money is used for negative ads which constantly bombard our senses every election cycle, and unless you live under a rock you’ve probably seen more than a few negative political ads about a candidate, ballot initiative, or referendum on TV or social media. Many include something like “paid for by Defending Democracy Together, Protecting America Initiative, Patriotic Veterans,” etc., which tells you nothing really, but rather serves to divide us and makes everybody feel like our country is under assault from “the other side.”

Foreign money is also seeping into our political campaigns. For example, New York City Mayor Eric Adams allegedly solicited and directed foreign nationals to illegally contribute to his 2021 and 2025 campaigns. His (now-dismissed) indictment mentioned arrangements to use U.S. citizens as “straw donors” to conceal the foreign sources of the campaign contributions. Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss has funneled tens of millions toward selected causes through a network of nonprofits.

Our elected officials have privately shared their frustration with constantly needing to “dial for dollars,” robbing time that they would rather spend studying proposals, working across the aisle, and listening to constituents other than big-money donors.

We are in this mess because of the Supreme Court and their misguided interpretation of what qualifies as free speech. So what can we do about it? Fortunately, we have the power to amend our Constitution to fix this. In fact, the American people have overruled the Supreme Court eight different times throughout our history by amending the U.S. Constitution. The time has come to do it again.

American Promise, a cross-partisan group formed in 2016, has a solution: The For Our Freedom Amendment, which would return to the States and Congress the right they previously had to reasonably regulate campaign contributions. A bit of a heavy lift? Maybe. But impossible? Absolutely not. In the past century, 12 Amendments were passed either to correct Supreme Court rulings or address huge challenges faced by Americans. We’re actually overdue for another, and to date 23 states have passed resolutions affirming that if Congress introduces such an amendment, they will ratify it. Texas considered a resolution in 2025, and must take action in the next legislative session to stand with the other states — Utah being the most recent — to call for an amendment.

So how would Thomas Jefferson celebrate this 4th of July? My guess is he’d be proud to learn we are still going strong as a nation, but I also imagine he’d want to get involved to keep our 249-year-old experiment with self-government alive.

The men who signed our Declaration of Independence suffered destruction of their property, financial ruin, torture, even death for their beliefs. We owe it to them to honor their memories by returning to the principles for which they sacrificed. The For Our Freedom Amendment campaign is a call to action — a call to citizenship for all of us. If you’d like to celebrate this 4th of July by helping to preserve self-government, you can take the first step by signing the Citizen Pledge in support of the amendment at americanpromise.net.

— Claire Gibbs is a retired Human Resources consultant and volunteer with American Promise. She lives in Tyler.