My Occupy Wall Street Experience: Part I

Part of the reason that I wanted to go to Wall Street was to see what this whole thing is about for myself. After my experience with the BP oil disaster, I am all too suspicious of how the main stream media treats inconvenient news, ie. news that might somehow hurt the bottom line. What I had seen and heard was that the scene was chaotic, led by a bunch of no good hippies, and that it wasn't going anywhere. What I felt though, was that perhaps, this might be the beginning of the real paradigm shift that we've all been longing for. If that is true, I can't just sit by and watch it on ABC.

Upon arrival in Zuccoti Square, now known as Liberty Plaza, the birthplace of the new revolution, my first impressions were varied. Immediately, the "gutter punk" contingent was evident, as were some sloppy signs, some with some pretty incoherent messages painted on them, but there were also MANY people my age or older, and families and children, all fighting for your future. Having a camera around my neck kind of put me on the other side of the lines, and seemed to raise some suspicions and establish a barrier between myself and many of the people gathered there. I spent the whole day yesterday working through that, and getting over it in my own head.

For me the major issue in our country and world is the extended and over-represented hand of Big Corporate Money in our government and in our electoral process. I see this is an easy fix, at least, the legislation is easy to draft, and if we can gather the steam to apply sufficient pressure going in to the 2012 election cycle I really think we have a solid opportunity to create and affect change.

It's simple math, corporations have a single mandate, which is to make money. Given that, they must take it upon themselves to affect legislation and the political process in EVERY manner possible that might benefit the corporation. There is no choice. It is the sole reason for their existence. Given this truth, and the lee way that our government has continued to expand, most appallingly when the supreme court ruled in favor of corporations in January, 2010 and increased their first amendment rights as well as their ability to affect elections. Given these FACTS, there is no way that our government can now or ever will function for the people but will ALWAYS be over represented by the 1% of the world that controls half of the wealth and resources, unless we change this NOW.

This is the basis for EVERY single problem in our world and our society, environmental, social, fiscal, etc., and can only continue to worsen. That is a truth that I think everyone can get on board with. And, if that's the case, I think now is the time that you ask yourself, even if it is just a bunch of hippies, down on Wall Street, (which it's not), can you afford NOT to join them??

My biggest fear is that our people are so distracted and apathetic that if the media can manage to play this right, it might just fizzle out before you get the chance. One big round up by the police and another distraction like say, bombing Pakistan, maybe the world will just forget about the opportunity we had once to take the reins back on this run away carriage, and slow this contraption down before it rattles apart and explodes in a cloud of splinters of what might have been. if we miss this opportunity, I shudder to think of the repercussions. I very much fear an apathetic backlash of insurmountable consequence if this movement fails.

So, en fin, my lasting impression as I left Wall Street was one of hope. I feel that every day, the message becomes more concrete, and more and more people embrace the possibility to exist in the world as real people and not automated consumer-bots. The people occupying Wall Street are a well educated, age diverse, and politically varied crowd from angry gutter punks to raging grannies to patriotic trade unions, each with their own valid opinion on the state of the world and what we need to do to change it, but the common denominator is that they know a change MUST come above all else, and they have the courage to stand up and shout it in a very hostile land. Have you got that courage?

And Now, a wonderful poem of solemn inspiration:

Shine, Perishing Republic

by

Robinson Jeffers

While this America settles in the mould of its vulgarity, heavily thickening

to empire

And protest, only a bubble in the molten mass, pops and sighs out,
and the
mass hardens,

I sadly smiling remember that the flower fades to make fruit, the fruit rots

to make earth.

Out of the mother; and through the spring exultances, ripeness and decadence;

and home to the mother.

You making haste haste on decay: not blameworthy; life is good, be it stubbornly

long or suddenly

A mortal splendor: meteors are not needed less than mountains:

shine, perishing republic.

But for my children, I would have them keep their distance from the thickening
center; corruption

Never has been compulsory, when the cities lie at the monster's feet there

are left the mountains.

And boys, be in nothing so moderate as in love of man, a clever servant,

insufferable master.

There is the trap that catches noblest spirits, that caught – they say –

God, when he walked on earth.