Occupy Wall Street and the hunger for “real democracy”
We are inspired by the #occupywallst movement. We appreciate and support the official statement. Many of our members are already participating and we encourage all Americans to attend an #occupytogether event near you and experience for yourself the level of energy and commitment.
The Occupiers are not only protesting; they are showing us a way to democratize our communities and the country by presenting a powerful, democratic, consensus-building process in the form of a General Assembly. This spontaneous, creative and surprisingly disciplined movement is changing the political conversation in America including Washington. This is amazing and it is something we can all celebrate as Americans.
It appears that we are all part of the larger movement of the people sweeping the world with a simple demand: a real democracy. We were inspired by the courage and conviction among the people protesting in Egypt, Spain, Israel, Iceland, Madison and many other places around the world.
This is what is unfolding: the drama of our irrepressible thirst for democracy fighting against institutionalized corruption. Some would say that it began in Egypt in January or in Tunisia in December, 2010. I would argue that an incandescent spark was lit in Iran in June, 2009 when the world watched brave men, women, and children put their bodies on the line for democracy in their country. It's impossible to say because what we are talking about is a kind of spirit — as ancient as human civilization itself and manifest heroically in the founding of the United States — more than a definable event. Regardless, this spirit has taken root in America, on Wall Street, around the nation, and in Freedom Plaza in DC starting today.
This is long overdue. Many people around the world have felt their voices drowned out by powerful special interests and have witnessed growing inequalities. It's been unbearably painful for America's 99% to be forced to bail out massive financial institutions and watch as the culprits who caused the recession lavish themselves with bonuses while we lost our jobs and our homes.
We must all do our part using whatever resources we have to restore democracy and empower ourselves as human beings.
Occupy Wall Street's official statement says: "We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power. Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone."
We believe it is vitally important to resuscitate our dying democracy with direct participation in the political system. This is why we are taking our grievances, stories and ideas to the front door of Congress and this is why we are lobbying for the People on an on-going basis. We are building relationships with members in Congress, not based on denunciation and intimidation, but based on collaboration and a sense of duty to this country. We must find a way to have constructive dialogue as fellow citizens, especially with those elected to represent us in Washington. This is a crucial step to asserting our power as people.
Protest and dialogue go hand in hand, as people in Egypt discovered this year. They needed to protest AND insist on the right to negotiate the terms of their new government after gaining a seat at the table. If we fail to do both, we will see the old guard regroup as they always do, re-forming the same cycle of corruption with a different symbollic head.
Powers that be will not yield easily. This is part of an ongoing political fight. We must organize and prepare for a long political struggle. We won't be able to undo overnight the terrible policies that caused the destruction of the middle class over the past 30 years.
We need to sit down as Americans, put our ideologies aside, and commit to fixing our broken government. This is why we are taking our stories, concerns, ideas and the contagious spirit of our time — a demand for a "real democracy" — to the US Capitol on October 29th. This is our best hope, unchanged since we started over a year ago. The miraculous thing is that it is no longer a faint hope, in large part because the People have decided to occupy Wall Street. It's happening. It is real. Let's embrace it and step up to fight for a "real democracy" in America.
