Forum Post: PLEASE READ: Open Letter to Occupy WallStreet.
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 11, 2011, 10:06 p.m. EST by NYCMIddleman
(0)
from New York, NY
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
My fellow Americans,
We find ourselves at a great turning point in the American story. We are at a time when or way of life is destroying our country's future and we are fighting it. The only issue is that we're not committing to these goals and getting caught up in the act of civil unrest and the rush it brings. Our country needs us and to understand what we are doing. We need to represent ourselves as what we really are, the 99%.
This protest is to separate Democracy from Capitalism. Both of these concepts are fantastic in their own rights. Democracy is the foundation of America, and of liberty. This system of government is almost as old as history itself. The other, Capitalism, is the foundation of the American Dream, which is the heart of our way of life. The only problem is that American Dream has bought America. I feel that the only way we can truly set ourselves straight is to separate the two. In the same way we needed to separate church and state in the sixties in an effort to help serve our country's freedom of religion, we now need to separate our Corporations and our State, in an effort to develop some shield to private interests in a public office. Separating these entities is the only way that the regulations of Fair Trade will not be thrown away for personal profits.
To make this happen we need to properly represent ourselves. Social change cannot be won without proper symbols. This protest is about Americans fighting back against corporate greed, then we need to show that. It has to be so simple and direct that everyone can understand it. We need to look back at protest as a whole, and see what did work and what didn't. I agree that the Occupation of Wall Street is a great start. But that is not the only symbol, each person in this protest is a symbol. The only problem is that we are displaying the wrong symbols. The corporate run news is quickly spinning this in an effort to sour the heartland, the only problem is that it is our own faults. The most meaningful social change brought about in the 20th century without a doubt the work of Martin Luther King Jr., everything he did was thought out down to the way the protesters where dressed. Everyone wore suits during the Civil Rights marches, this was to bring forward the look of being productive. I feel that this is the largest small step taken to being listened to. It told everyone, as lame as it sounds, "We are serious and mean business." The occupation of Wall Street should look back on this with pause. Because this protest is about jobs, as much as it's about how our country is run. It is about Americans wanting to go back to work, and we needs to look the part. We need to look the part because we want to present the message. It needs to be understood by everyone from Social Anarchists to the Tea Party because that's how we get them to understand us. The other thing we need are flags, American flags. Mostly because nothing says we are interested in the future of this country like the American flag. We are Patriots and we must take back this symbol back, it represents everything that we have fought for up until this point and everything our grandchildren will fight for if we succeed.
The greatest thing that the movement needs is realistic goals. I am starting to hear people talking about ending the Federal Reserve. We need to reform the Fed, not get rid of it, without it there is no safe guard over our financial system. This is great for big business but not for us. What we need to do is clean the government of private influence of Corporations so it can make decisions based on the best interest of the nation not the top 1%. Corporations will do just fine to take care of themselves, it is their primary goal. This will just restore our officials to their intended purpose, serving the country as a whole. There needs to be an abolition of private lobbyists with in the government. There is no reason that their voice should be heard anymore readily then any other person paying these people in office. This brings up the second most powerful reform that needs to take place; Government officials should no longer take campaign funds from corporations in order to get into office, it should be done thru regulated donation systems, such as Kickstarter. Separating the Corporations hold on government will bring everything back into balance, restoring the voice of the many over the voice of the few.
I hope that this movement can grow to encompass the nation with the goal that is at it's core. To bring the voice of the people back into the spectrum. We need to do everything to make this work. The government should be trying to keep our jobs here. I applaud everyone who is standing up for the 99% of us and I hope we can do it so everyone will listen. Sometimes it is not what you say it's how you say it.
Let's take our country back.
Hear, hear! Get private money and the corporate interests it supports out of government!
Separation of business and state.