Forum Post: On The Reality of Power and The Necessity of Idealism

What has come to be seen as the fundamental rift in the Occupy Movement is not actually a rift in the movement at all, but instead the oldest and most insideous question that has plagued humanity itself, and it is paramount that we come to understand this now if the movement is to progress.

On one side we have the "idealists," who see the necessity of staying true to the Occupy message at all costs, while on the other side we have the "realists," who see that Occupy cannot succeed if it does not engage in the existing political process - does not face down effectively the factual mechanisms of power. Feelings run very, very, deep when it comes to this issue and understandably so, given that the question engages our deepest and most ardent beliefs.

So the idealists fear the realists are trying to coopt the movement for the Democratic Party and as a result the movement will just peter-out into another failed experiment, thwarted by the entrenched powers of a corrupted bureaucracy - while the realists fear a lack of pragmatism regarding power and how it operates will likewise lead to the movements demise, and both of these fears are justified given this one caviat: that we fail in endurance, in focus, and in the incorruptability our aims and actions.

However: given that we remain true to ourselves and our objectives, remain resolute and rid ourselves to the greatest degree possible of our egos, in which lie the seeds of renewed corruption, then neither of these fears have a foundation - the controversy simply melts into thin air. That is because the answer lies within ourselves and not within the institutions of society. No institution, at any level of society, can be made safe from human corruptability, yet by the same token no institution, no matter how corrupt, can stand against the will of the people united for the transformation of society and the human spirit.

The distinction then is seen for what it is, a chimeara. It is simply the age old question of fear vs. trust, and the answer lies within each of us and by extention us collectively - in our individual strength and in the content of our charactors.

That is the question handed to us yet again, as it has been handed to us throughout the ages . . . the question of trust or mistrust, love or hatred. Do we have the courage to finally affirm ourselves and one another, or do we start over again the revolving cycle of human mysery? Can we have faith in the integrity of one another within the movement, or will we once again divide and allow fear to again become the dominant force in human relations, and thus permenently seal our fates?

Only in the furrow of our fears and hatreds can be planted the seeds of our destruction, and so we must nurture our dreams with trust and love so that they may grow into a great oak tree.

Yes, it is simply once again the never ending question, the paramount question, the question that will never go away until we either find a different answer, or go away ourselves.

The question of human survival, of triumph or defeat, is thus first and foremost an individual question, a question of the human spirit.