Forum Post: You Have A Problem
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 10, 2011, 2:12 a.m. EST by portlandmonk
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This movement is off to a great start. You've captivated the attention of the nation. You have 99% of the population in your corner.
The problem? You don't have a single unified goal or a plan of action and now the movement is being defined for you...a mixed message of young disorganized people who don't know what they want.
The difference between you and the Arab Spring was that everybody in Egypt knew what they wanted. Mubarak out of power. The entire world knew that. They protested until they got that ONE demand.
The difference between you and MLK Jr. and the civil rights movement was that everybody knew what they wanted. Equal rights. The entire world knew that. They protested until they got that ONE demand.
You need ONE demand and a plan of action how to get there.
It's up for you to decide what that will be. I'll offer my opinion for consideration.
That ONE demand is to End Money in Government.
It is my belief that this is the single most important problem affecting what gets done in government.
This is not a Right vs. Left issue. This is a Right AND Left issue. Both parties are responsible.
Every problem you are protesting about right now...and I mean every one, is a result of the relationship between the money spent lobbying legislation and what results in that money. Every one.
Wall Street caused these problems because they spent the money in congress to make their practices legal.
The plan of action?
I'm in favor of holding a constitutional convention because congress is not capable of proposing the kinds of amendments the country needs...due to the influence of money.
The constitutional convention goes around congress to force an amendment.
From Wikipedia:
According to Article V, Congress must call for an amendment-proposing convention, “on the application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States”, and therefore 34 state legislatures would have to submit applications. Once an Article V convention has proposed amendments, then each of those amendments would have to be ratified by three-fourths of the states (i.e. 38 states) in order to become part of the Constitution.
You are mobilized and ready to act. Do something.
ONE Demand.
Thanks for listening,
Portland Monk
The difference here is that the Arab Spring goal was straight forward. Remove dictator. Ours is not quite that simple. It is much more complicated. Like the Arab Spring, we can all agree on one demand and that is change. But because our issue is not just one but many and those issues are complicated and intertwined it is much more difficult.
Also we are actually doing the governments job right now( so maybe we should split their salaries:) ) and that job is to govern and protect the people. We want to make sure all the people are represented and to do that properly we need to hear from a lot of the people not just a few. We need to gather a consensus on what the people want, again what the govt should be doing. We want to make sure we represent what a majority of the people want and we need to make sure our demands are reasonably obtainable.
I, personally, am in no rush. I do not want this to get screwed up. IF the media is demanding a list of demands, they can fly a kite. We will give a list when we are ready to give a list. I rather us take our time and get this right and make it successful than to rush it and mess it up. And i think the ones that want the list and are using that as cannon fodder are trying to prod us into making a list of demands before we are ready to do so. That way they can pick apart and put this movement to rest.
We cannot let this happen. We cannot let ourselves be influenced by outside influences that are not trustworthy. Stay the course and keep our focus is the most important thing. The "core group" has done a wonderful job so far in keeping this on track, in my opinion. And we need to maintain that track. If we lose our way for even a second, if we rush something before we are ready, they will shoot us down. This is what these people do. This is what they have been doing for decades. This is how they keep us under control. Divide and conquer. We cannot let them divide us. We must stand together because all we have is each other. We have no power, no money, no influence but the one thing we do have that they cannot take away from us( without mass murder anyway) is friends. We need to unite, cons and libs, religious and atheists, poor and middle class, all ethnic backgrounds, and all i will even throw in all nations because this affects everyone. We need to stand not as one nation but one world against the tyranny that has controlled us for to long.
This is very important. Remember this when you see someone that does not agree with your views. Ask yourself "are they 1 of the 99%?" If they are then you need to stand with them as your brother or sister and agree changes needs to be made, even if you dont agree on how to go about the change.
As it stands now,as a lib, even a cons suggestion that is part of the 99% is better than what we got now even if i think it is to far right. I would accept this as at least an attempt at improvement even if we have a different way of improving things. And this is what will make us strong. That we are changing things as the people even if we differ on how or what. At least it is what most or all of the people want.
Sorry about the long winded post.
Please Read: http://occupywallst.org/forum/can-we-end-the-fed/
Initial Demand: end the fed
One demand. Outlaw lobbying the government officials
Yes! End corporate ownership of the government. Most other issues will be solved by that.
problem fixed.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/thetruth-socialismcapitalismcommunismmarxism/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/capitalism-versus-corporatism/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/help-me-understand/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/capitalism-a-love-story/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/sociology/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/energy-101-solution/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ethics/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/break-your-left-right-conditioning/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/nader-kucinich-and-paul/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/5-facts-you-should-know-about-the-wealthiest-one-p/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/i-am-homeless-joe-jp-morgan-chase-accidentally-for/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/can-we-end-the-fed/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/teaching-the-occupation/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/this-forum-needs-structure/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ows-is-not-your-personal-billboard-for-your-politi/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/systems-theory-primer/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/organize-inform-take-action-effect-change/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/better-website-needed/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/stop-playing-the-devils-games/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/nonviolence-the-only-path/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ows-not-against-capitalism/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/this-is-not-about-political-stripe-it-is-about-bas/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/national-initiative-for-democracy/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/a-third-political-party-the-movement-of-the-middle/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/300-fema-camps/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ows-is-a-false-flag-operation/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/why-this-will-not-work/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/paradigm-shift-now/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/a-proposal-for-focus/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/stop-the-bullshit-posts-and-get-organized/
Our situation is FAR more complex than a single dictatorial leader. Even in their case, getting rid of Mubarak didn't solve their problems. It was simply an easy enemy to focus on.
This movement will gel in time. Have you ever watched Starlings in flight? They do eventually organize into a cohesive whole. Look them up on youtube. Starlings on Otmoor is my favorite.
The problem with a constitutional convention is that it could allow the rich to completely re-write the constitution as a monarchy or oligarchy with them in charge.