"This is the 1st Time I've Felt Hopeful in a Very Long Time."

More than 10,000 people poured into Foley Square in New York City yesterday. I am grateful to have been one of them. Here’s just a very small sampling of the very big crowd that showed up to protest corporate greed and political injustice. A taste, as it were, of the 99%...

A young woman standing next to me held up a sign that read, "I graduated from college with a 4.0 GPA and $20,000 in debt. Where's my bailout?" Student after student walked by her and shouted out their college debt figures. $40,000. $65,000. $80,000. Even $200,000. In debt, just to learn.

I put myself through college and accumulated a nice chunk of debt in doing so, but nothing compared to what many students are experiencing today. Just to learn.

A bearded man in ripped jeans and a t-shirt held up a sign that read, "I've got a job, I've got kids, I like sports, I hunt and I drink beer, and I'm here because I care about this country." 

I freelance, I don’t have kids, I’m not a big sports fan, I definitely don’t hunt, and I’ll usually take wine or vodka over beer. And I too care about this country. 

A wide-eyed baby sat in his stroller with a smile on his face, and a sign resting across his lap that read, "I am here with you because you are here for me." 

His cuteness alone was cause for celebration, as was the sentiment of his sign. I'd like to think that the one thing we all can agree on (or at least 99% of us) is the importance of creating a safer, healthier and more compassionate world for the generations that follow.

A gentle woman with long blonde hair held up a sign that read, "This is the 1st time I've felt hopeful in a very long time." 

I smiled at her in agreement. As we both looked out at the thousands of people who had united to improve our country - every age and color and income bracket reflected in the enthusiastic crowd - it was impossible not to feel hopeful, and impossibly refreshing to feel it. 

An enthusiastic man in a suit and tie held up a sign that read, "I'm a successful business executive standing up against corporate greed. We're not all hippies here, CNN." 

A young man walked with a cigarette dangling from his lip and a sign that read, "Occupy The Hood."

An elderly couple shared a sign that read, “Not too old to march against corporate greed.”

So many impassioned people, and so many wonderful signs:

“Public Education: Too Important To Fail”

“Can You Feel the Trickle Down?”

“Due to recent budget cuts, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.”

“Trickle Treat”

“I had a nicer sign but it was foreclosed on by one of the banks.”

“If only the war on poverty were a real war, then we would be putting money into it.”

“I can’t afford my own politician, so I made this sign.”

  and maybe the most eloquent of the bunch...

“Shit is Fucked Up and Bullshit”

I share these Occupy Wall Street notes with all of you so that you can get a taste of some very powerful democracy in action here in New York City and around the country. My words certainly don’t replace the experience of being at one of these marches, and I encourage you all to find an Occupation - or hell, start one - wherever you live. I encourage you all to learn more about this movement that is rocking and will continue to rock the corrupt foundation that has held up Wall Street and too many of our politicians for way too long. 

I also share these notes with you all, because the Occupy Wall Street movement is filled with kind and creative and passionate and committed Americans from all walks of life, and I want to share and celebrate that fact. Truly, all walks of life, coming together for the good of all. 

It’s particularly easy to see the world through shit-colored glasses these days, especially if you watch or read any news at all. Like the gentle blonde woman who is feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time, I want us all to feel hopeful about the direction of our country. I want us all to feel that we have the power to effect positive change. I want us all to feel connected by our love of humanity, and by our commitment to the well-being of not just ourselves and those we love, but to all human beings. 

I know that’s a tall order, but I’m feeling extra large with the spirit of peaceful revolution. So please, by all means, serve it up.

Love and Anger Sittin' in a Tree

Sometimes I feel like I'm so in love that I could change the whole world. In love with the potential of human beings. In love with the resilience of communities. In love with the forgiveness of friends. In love with the generosity of strangers. In love with life really, and all of the beauty that exists in our world, and especially the beauty that exists in people. 

Sometimes I feel like I'm so angry that I could change the whole world. Angry at the bigotry that poisons too many human beings. Angry at the desperate greed that has destroyed too many communities. Angry at the hypocrisy of our politicians. Angry at the general disregard for all of our well-being. Angry at life really, and all of the injustice that exists in our world, and especially the unjust nature of those controlling it. 

Love and Anger. Anger and Love. A combination much more powerful than even chocolate and peanut butter. As I watch this city (and country) slowly but surely continue to swell in peaceful and necessary revolt (thank you, Occupy Wall Street), I see how critical both emotions are to creating dramatic and lasting change. I see that, even though I try to be all about love, a healthy dose of anger, supported by love and compassion, just may be the perfect antidote to corporate greed and political irresponsibility. Together, love and anger just may lead us to a different kind of country, and a different kind of world. One we can take pride in. I'm certain that anger can't do it all on its own. Love, possibly, but it would probably take a lot longer, and I'm not confident we have the time. 

So I remind myself, and I'll remind all of you who are as angry as I am about the state of our country, and who are willing to speak out against corruption and greed and against those who are perpetrating it, that we can't forget to recognize the oceans of love that stir inside our beings. Deep complete oceans of love, filled with compassion and forgiveness and understanding and everything that makes human beings beyond extraordinary. With love and compassion at its core, our anger is especially strong and useful. Without love and compassion, our anger is especially unpredictable and dangerous. 

Besides, who wants to be 100% angry? There's absolutely no fun in that. Occupy Wall Street has gotten the attention of corporations, of our government, and of people all over the world. They united under an angry resistance to the injustices spit at the people of this country by Wall Street and the government. Their anger got America's attention. Their peaceful approach has earned the world's respect. And the movement's continued commitment to peace and inclusion and fairness will propel it farther than perhaps anyone could have dreamed. Of course, with each passing day, I'm dreaming much bigger. 

Ibn 'Arabi, the great Sufi mystic, once said that the movement which is the existence of the universe is the movement of love. I love this quote and believe it wholeheartedly. But right now, in this moment, in this country, and in our world, I'd like to change it up a little. I think that the movement which is the existence of change in our universe is the movement of love, and anger. 

Personally, I know that sometimes I feel so in love and so angry that I could change the whole world. And it seems I'm not alone. Thousands upon thousands of people are seizing their anger, and energizing their compassion, and channeling their love, and effecting real change. And that makes me far more excited than even an oversized plateful of peanut butter and chocolate.

Wouldn't You Like to Be A Patriot Too!?

I woke up with the desire to write about patriotism. Not out of the blue, mind you, but because I see Occupy Wall Street as a beautiful representation of the ideal expression of patriotism. And because we’ve all seen, and are seeing all the time, our governments (both local and federal) use false patriotism to shove their extremely unpatriotic agendas down our collective throats. Mine is sore, isn’t yours?

So I looked up the word patriotism to find out its exact meaning, and here it is: devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty. This definition only supported my suspicions, that Occupy Wall Street is extremely patriotic, while those in opposition to its humane agenda are likely not. And yes, I’m talking to you Mayor Bloomberg. To steal a line from Stephen Colbert, “Shame on you sir. Shame on you.” Only I mean it.

Has there been any principle used more effectively than (so-called) patriotism to curb national debate and silence warranted opposition to national policies? Well okay, there’s religion, but you get the point. Let’s not forget the poor Dixie Chicks who were nearly hanged as traitors for speaking out against the Iraq War before it was cool to do so. Okay, they weren’t nearly hanged, but they got plenty of death threats. In the name of patriotism of course. 

So I looked up some quotes on patriotism and wasn’t surprised to find that many scholars and historians and generally smart people weren’t too fond of the idea of patriotism. George Bernard Shaw put the sentiments of many most succinctly with this little ditty: Patriotism is a pernicious, psychopathic form of idiocy.

Now that’s getting to the point. No doubt he was speaking to a species of patriotism (let’s call it anti-patriosapien) that, for example, gives governments the right to wage war on other nations for no good reason at all. And that gives the citizens of those governments the strange inclination to support those wars (for no good reason at all). Of course, George Bernard Shaw was a socialist (God no!) and shouldn’t be taken seriously in any case. 

I found another quote by Alexander Solzhenitsyn that I liked very much: Patriotism means unqualified and unwavering love for the nation, which implies not uncritical eagerness to serve, not support of unjust claims, but frank assessment of its vices and sins, and penitence for them.

Now that’s what I’m talking about. And that’s why I view true patriotism the same way I view true friendship. It’s not just about loving your country or your friends; it’s about loving them enough to call them on their crap and to do everything you can possibly do to take them beyond it (their crap that is). Isn’t that true friendship - the willingness to say the tough things because you want what’s best for your friend? Isn’t that true patriotism as well?

And that’s why I love Occupy Wall Street. Because all of these protestors love themselves and their fellow citizens and this country enough to stand up and rally and march and proclaim to the “leaders” at large, “Hey, get over your greedy bullshit and let’s create a great nation together. Let’s realize our potential. Let’s embrace real patriotism.”

What I’ve come to realize about patriotism, or at least about my sense of the word, is that I don’t dare limit it to the United States. I’m more a patriot to this world than to any one nation in this world. I want all countries to flourish, and all people from all countries to take pride in their nations and in our world.

It has been said in a thousand different ways, that by healing oneself, you can help to heal the planet. So too then, by healing one’s country, especially one as powerful as America, can we help to heal the planet. I love living in America, in great part because I’m aware of the tremendous freedom we citizens have here. But this country is hurting. Our fellow citizens are hurting. And there are indisputable causes for this pain. 

Greed is just one of the things destroying our country, but it’s doing a particularly effective job of it. I stand in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and with everyone who is no longer willing to accept things as they are (by things I mean corporate and political corruption, et al.) I stand in solidarity with every American and every human being brave enough to live their lives as true patriots, to their nation, and to our world.

Together let’s restore the essence of patriotism to our nation. Let’s own the word as one that unites people to work together to create the best possible expression of their country. By that definition, I am a dedicated and enthusiastic patriot!

Let's All Occupy Wall Street. Now.

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%.

I Don't Support the Death Penalty. Not At All.

I don’t support the death penalty. Not at all. Simply because I don’t support murder. And you can call it whatever you like - justice, retribution, punishment - but it’s still murder. Right?

If I were okay with murder, I still wouldn’t support the death penalty. 138 death row inmates have been exonerated since 1973. Meaning they were proven, by DNA or other evidence, to be innocent of the crimes that put them on death row. 138 innocent people, and counting. So even if I were okay with murder, I can’t imagine ever being okay with murdering an innocent person, or even risking that possibility. And I’m sick to think about all of the innocent men and women who have thrown away even a day of their lives, let alone decades, in prison for a crime they didn’t commit. Not to mention those who were murdered for a crime they didn’t commit. And there have been many, many people put to death for crimes they likely or most certainly did not commit. 

Even if I were okay with murder, and no one had been exonerated(suggesting all who were on death row were guilty), I still wouldn’t support the death penalty, because it’s costing our country a fortune to keep inmates on death row. Every research study concludes that it is considerably more expensive to keep an inmate on death row than it is to hold him in prison for life. We’re talking many millions of dollars more expensive. At a time when there’s no denying the fiscal instability of our country, and certainly of the states that make up our country, it seems beyond irresponsible to be throwing away millions and millions of dollars on capital punishment. 

But even if I were okay with murder, and no one had been exonerated, and capital punishment were fiscally responsible, I still wouldn’t be able to support the death penalty. Why? Maybe because it’s horrifically racially biased, or because it’s regarded as barbaric by most of the civilized world, or because it doesn’t deter violent crimes overall, or because most death row inmates weren’t granted proper legal representation, or, or, or. Name your or, as I’m sure I haven’t listed them all.

Plenty of people are murdered every year through capital punishment. Not all of them get the press that Troy Davis has gotten these past two weeks. Few of them get any press at all. It makes my mind hurt and my heart hurt and my soul hurt to think about the fact that Troy Davis was murdered. He was likely innocent, or potentially innocent, and he was murdered. And though it’s been inspiring to see thousands of people across the country protesting for and because of him, it’s impossibly unjust that any protests were needed at all. Impossibly unjust that Troy Davis is dead.

Because of Troy Davis and every other innocent death row inmate, alive and dead, and because of all the other reasons I’ve listed, and because, most of all, murder cannot and should not ever be justified, I cannot and will not ever support the death penalty. 

Justice, sure. I support that. But not murder. Not ever.

Why would I? Why would you?