Just as the sense of the Occupy Wall Street Movement began nearly
overnight, it seems evictions of parks in cities around the country have tried
to put an end to the uprising in one fell swoop. We are on the verge of a precipice and our
collective energy as a culture and society, the kind of world we want for
ourselves and our children, teeters in the balance.
The mayor of
Oakland supports conspiracy theorists on both sides, having let slip the
comment that she was part of a decision-making conference call. Within hours, parks and peaceful
demonstrations have been cleared away as easily as authorities might wish the
underlying trouble can be swept away.
Like the
bail-outs that prompted the unrest, this attempt to carpet the disenfranchised
should only be one more dying gasp from a system that is doomed, collapsing as
predictably as the visions of December 2012 and the end of the world. Gasping for any last victory, the wicked witch melting into a
puddle of her own foul evil comes to mind. Only who are the villains and victors is still in question. Who will sweep the remains into the bucket and celebrate is left for us to decide.
The force of
change that a small percentage of the ninety-nine represents and invites could
expire as surely as the fast approaching chilly winds of winter could blow us
all inside and back to life as we have known it. Having stepped up to raise the cry and hue,
it is up to the rest of us who have been displaced from our foreclosed homes,
laid off from an unbalanced economy or are just too busy trying to make ends
meet. We all are the ones who can keep this momentum rolling for a better balance.
For my small part, I return credit card
invitations in their postage paid envelopes as an irritant with a note
reminding them of the damage this kind of debt can cause.
For my small part, I return credit card
invitations in their postage paid envelopes as an irritant with a note
reminding them of the damage this kind of debt can cause.
Artists must
create fine works of music, painting and poetry that shed light on the
inequalities and celebrate the common heroics of the constant struggle to
maintain a decent life from day to day. The poor and the unemployed must hold
our heads high, maintaining dignity and integrity in the face of our poverty
and earn the riches we all deserve.
The wealthy,
in addition to feeling proud for what we have accumulated and
accomplished, must recognize that at
some point enough is enough and is, in fact, diminished when our neighbors are
hungry. In the middle, we must look up
from our frantic and desperate pace of grinding stones with our noses to sniff the fresh air and celebrate our good fortunes and the love in our lives.
Whether or
not the Occupy Wall Street Movement has been leaderless or is the sinister plot
of the unwashed and unemployed, a healthy discussion is taking place. Whether or not there is a one and a
ninety-nine, a simple or silent majority, a tea party or a tweet party, we must
unite and become the one hundred percent who are for love.
Heading into 2012 and the end of the world as
we know it, we must leave the fear that there is not enough for everyone behind
to shrivel and evaporate in the puddle of the wicked witch where it belongs.
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