Huffington Magazine Issue 72 | Page 5

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR has found that Congress is far more responsive to the concerns of the wealthy, as opposed to those of lower-income Americans. The good news is that a broad coalition — including the Sierra Club, the NAACP, Greenpeace and the Communications Workers of America — agrees that the way we finance our elections isn’t working. Alongside the failings of our current campaign finance system, Paul looks into the ways these groups have begun investing time and resources to reform the process so that small donors have more of a voice in the political process. Elsewhere in the issue, Kia Makarechi points out a troubling trend among the potential Academy Award candidates this year. While a handful of black actors are getting Oscar-worthy buzz for their performances, Kia notes that they all starred in roles that had to be played by black actors, from Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave to Idris Elba in Mandela. Digging back through Oscar history, he finds that this problem has been around for a while. “The only black man to win best actor for a role that could have HUFFINGTON 10.27.13 been played by a white actor is Denzel Washington,” Kia writes, “who won in 2001 for his turn as a LAPD detective in Training Day.” In our Voices section, Oxford professor Ian Goldin writes about the problem of short-term goals within corporations, which often have leaders who succumb to the pressures of today and neglect I can’t keep going to the same donors with the same story. There’s got to be something more innovative here.” the responsibilities of tomorrow. Ian emphasizes the need for longterm thinking if we are to secure a sustainable future. “The danger of leaving a damaging legacy is real,” he writes. Finally, as part of our continuing focus on the Third Metric, Ann Brenoff talks to transcendental meditation teacher-tothe-stars Bob Roth. ARIANNA