Should corporations be allowed to influence politics but also be legally capable of firing employees for their personal political stance?

Something is wrong in America folks. My concern is two fold…

1 -
Lewis Maltby’s new book Can They Do That? details just where our First Amendment rights end when it comes to the work place. Did you know that you can be fired for having drinks after work? Did you know that your company can fire you for taking up skiing as a hobby? Careful what you email your spouse from a work computer because details from your personal life can be grounds for dismissal. A woman got fired for having a political bumper sticker that the boss didn’t agree with. A teacher was fired for obesity. Maltby’s interview on NPR exposes some pretty horrific stories. All perfectly legal.

2 -
So how is it that the individual rights and voices can be silenced, but Corporations can influence politics more now than ever. Let’s keep in mind that each Corporation consists of a board of directors. A small group of people who’s voices are heard speaking out for whatever cause they choose. How Corporations Influence the Government exposes the many ways big Biz can call the shots. You may for instance be very happy that Google and Apple Computer donated $100,000 to fight proposition 8 in California. You may even be happy that they can legally fire anyone in their company that disagrees with them. But how would you feel if they took the reverse stance? Why should the Board of Directors of any company be able to influence any decision in politics whatsoever, and yet the common man can loose his job over the same thing?

Something wrong here. Something’s really bad wrong with this picture.