I write today because my level of dissatisfaction is such that I cannot permit myself to wait any longer. Like millions of my comrades across this planet, I have drawn great inspiration from the courageous demonstrations to which our nation has borne witness in recent weeks. However, I would be remiss if I failed to address those issues which most plague the scope of our public debate. I am drawn to speak on this subject because I believe the words of a great moral philosopher who told us that what God has brought together, let no man separate. There comes a time when man must speak out against the tyranny of division.
The truth of these words is beyond question, yet their calling is often difficult. The history of humanity is one of blood and strife. The bonds of man are broken apart by hatred. Entire societies have marched to war over disagreement. But true social progress demands our mutual understanding. We only grow as a species when we grow as a family. I write in the conviction that fruitful dialogue requires all of us to set aside some of our own ideological commitments in the name of brotherhood. We must overcome our personal differences in the spirit of solidarity. If there are canyons, we must build bridges.
It is a grave misfortune that so many of our comrades are failing to meet this sacred obligation in light of the protests. The news media wants us to give them a list of specific demands. Many of us, hoping to be taken seriously, have more or less obliged. Some argue that the protests are about raising taxes on the rich. Others say that we want to restructure the banking system. Still others demand a living wage. Even our Sister Nancy Pelosi has tried to use the protests to whip votes for the American Jobs Act. Everywhere we look, there are individuals trying to speak for all of us.
It is tempting to advance our own narrow political interests in the face of major events. Yet civil society compels us to a greater calling than self vindication.The strength of the occupations stem from their ability to cross ideological lines, not reinforce them. We include both liberals and moderates. Both anarchists and socialists. Both the religious and the atheist. Both the political and the apathetic. We must realize that there is no universal value from which our coalition stems. We may still recall the words of President John F. Kennedy, who once said that the unity of freedom relies not on the uniformity of opinion. Where there is diversity in ideas, we find unity in action.
At the same time, to only acknowledge that we act together overlooks what we act against. We look around us and see young people chained to mountains of debt, thrown to the streets by a future of indentured servitude to pay it off. We see families kicked out of their homes by banks and hedge funds. We see the unemployed left to fend for themselves by a government that doesn't care. We see workers who can no longer put food on the table while corporations boast record profits. We see veterans who risked their lives for a country that turns a blind eye to their injuries and suffering. We see mothers who work three jobs, barely having the time of day to spend with their children. Our comrades come from all backgrounds and all walks of life. But while we all have different ideas and different priorities, we join hands to share in our mutual suffering. The true beauty of the protests lies here. Despite our differences, we unite because we all in some way have been thrown aside by the system. For some reason, we all feel disaffected. For some reason, we all feel alienated.
This is the cold reality of an economy which holds the profits of the few in higher esteem than the welfare of the many. Our people have been born and bred into a system that is corrupt at its core. Our schools told us that hard work would be rewarded. Our politicians told us they would look out for us. Our media told us that everyone would have a chance at a home. But more and more we are seeing that the entire fabric is woven against us. Decent people are left in the cold while the greedy hold seats by the fire. The very pillars of government arch toward the interests of the rich and powerful. People of all ages, creeds, and backgrounds have been disillusioned. Even when we play by the rules, the system abandons us. The solution will not be found in any individual policy. No single "idea" can encompass all our grievances. Such an approach misses the point. These are not people asking for a new card or a new hand. They’re upset that the deck is rigged.
Dr. Martin Luther King once told us that evil acts in a chain reaction. To him racism was more than just an idea. It influences us not just by residing in the minds of individuals but by moving between those individuals. It rises up and then trickles back down. It circulates. And while it is true that victims of racism suffer from hurt feelings, Brother Martin declared that this was not the whole story. Instead, racism's true evil comes from its ability to transform who we are as people. It changes the places we go, the people we interact with, the ways we act and the ways we communicate. At some level, Brother Martin's struggle was not for civil rights but for human rights. To him racism was a movement that restricted us as human beings. So in response he led a movement of his own. And then we changed the world.
Brother Martin spent his entire life fighting the chain reaction of evil, but his struggle is not yet over. The forces of injustice still run in circulation. We've watched the one percent give money to politicians and receive lavish tax cuts in return. We've seen lower wages create profit, and then profit create technology that lowers wages. We've watched a government go to war to ensure peace, and then in peace spend money preparing for war. We've watched banks mortgage homes then foreclose them so they can mortgage them again. Even our very economy depends on the roads, bridges, trucks, cars, internet, and public transportation that connect households and firms. We see now that entire public spaces exist for the transfer of wealth and labor between firms and individuals. And we see that for millions of families, that transfer is not equitable or fair. The movement of the economy has failed them.
The strategy of "occupation" in this sense is more than a gathering of the politically minded. It is a movement. By occupying we change the manner in which people and objects interact. Roads are no longer just for cars and trucks. They are a gathering place. Time is no longer just for work or leisure. It is for meeting comrades. Wall Street is no longer Wall Street. It is our Common. Protests are no longer protests. They are occupations.
It is not justified that our nonviolent protest has been met with tear gas and pepper spray. Such tactics are not acceptable in any society. At the same time, it is easy to understand why we encounter hostility. When black activists occupied all-white bars, they were beaten and jeered. When workers staged sit-down strikes, riot squads were called in. During the Vietnam War, burned draft cards were replaced with a warrant for arrest. Women standing in voting lines were placed behind bars. Every great movement is met with an equal resistance. The guardians of the status quo are accustomed to the way things are, even if they are not the way they are supposed to be. But history rewards those who press on in the face of opposition. Let us occupy, but not for any one policy or idea. Let us occupy because the one percent have lost the impetus to dictate our movement for their own ends. Instead we will stand where we please. We struggle not for political ends but for humanity itself. We have but one simple demand: We will not move.
