I believe in Occupy Wall Street - not just in its resistance to corporate greed and its support of, as it states, the 99%, but also in its true potential to create real and dramatic change in our country. I spent a chunk of time at Liberty Plaza (Zuccotti Park) this past Friday, and I can tell you this: Something big is happening there. Something powerful. And Something with momentum.
This protest is fueled, certainly, by an anger over the injustice and just plain ridiculousness of our nation's corporate, banking and political practices. That corporations own our politicians and that Wall Street and banks (and the Supreme Court, thank you) make it all so fluidly possible. More money. More power. More corruption. Ridiculousness was too gentle a word. Vile. Immoral. Reprehensible. Criminal. Yes, those fit a bit better.
And, though there's anger driving the movement (and make no mistake, this is a fired-up movement), there's also excitement and community and hope that motivates the protestors and (as I see it) increases the possibilities for profound change. I walked into a celebration on Friday. A celebration of solidarity for all those, quite frankly, being fucked over by this country. For broke students and foreclosed on families and impoverished families and unemployed workers and underpaid workers and each and every person whose American dream has been and is being wiped away by unnecessary and unethical and simply unbelievable greed. And by American dream, I don't mean big house and fancy car. I mean fair wages and just practices and realistic opportunities and basic civility.
The Occupy Wall Street protestors are standing up beyond their fears to say, literally, "We are the 99%" and "You got bailed out; We got sold out" and many other fitting chants I can't remember right now. They are marching peacefully (very peacefully) for the rights of all Americans, and are marching in the face of unfair arrests (700+ yesterday alone). Several hundred protestors have been camped out for more than two weeks now at Liberty Plaza, vowing to stay there indefinitely, committed to their mission to create a better country for the 99%. A country that we can all take pride in.
This movement has inspired me beyond words. I'll be back there this week for sure, as part of the community, as a protestor, as a marcher, and as a man who believes that unless we start raising our voices and sharing our frustrations (peacefully, always) and eventually making our fair and humane demands, then nothing is going to change. Really, nothing. Wait, that's not true. Without this movement and however many others that are already developing like it, things will certainly continue to change for the worse.
I encourage you all to become familiar with the Occupy Wall Streetmovement: https://occupywallst.org/
It's actually likely that it has reached your area by now (Boston, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, DC, and many more) and I suspect there will be more and more oppotunities across the country to participate.
For months we've read about and watched the Arab Spring uprisings, watched as thousands upon thousands of people decided not just that they couldn't accept their leadership's policies any more, but also that they were ready to do something about it. They decided to make the change happen for themselves. I bring this up not to in any way compare circumstances between our country and certain countries around the world, but to suggest that we look to the example of the citizens in other nations who stood up fearlessly and said, "no more." Who are standing up right now.
Let's become those citizens. True patriots who want nothing more than to make America a good and honorable nation that respects its citizens and truly reflects democracy. Haven't we all been too quiet for long enough? Let's stop bitching to each other about the government and Wall Street. Let's start bitching to them. Even better, let's join those who are!
I am so proud of the Occupy Wall Street protestors, and so proud to consider myself one of them. One of the 99%.
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