Sitting here in my den, looking out at the sunlit trees and the sliver of lake that I can glimpse through the oak trees, the world seems like a quiet place. But open the email in-basket and things change in a hurry. It’s getting pretty wild out there.
All over the world, turmoil reigns.
It’s hard to tell who is fighting whom and why, but the fighting rages on. One thing seems clear: the global status quo has become unsustainable. Change is coming. And it’s coming to America.
This from Reader Supported News today:
With the Occupation of Wall Street in its second week, solidarity actions are popping up around the country and the world. Cities currently supporting Occupy Wall Street are: Madrid, Spain; San Francisco, California; Los Angeles, California; Toronto, Canada; London, England; Athens, Greece; Sydney, Australia; Stuttgart, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; Milan, Italy; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Algiers, Algeria; Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel; Portland, Oregon; and Chicago, Illinois.
Cities in the process of joining Occupy Wall Street are: Phoenix, Arizona; Montreal, Canada; Cleveland, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; Kansas City, Missouri; Seattle, Washington; and Orlando, Florida.
All of those actions were directly inspired by Occupy Wall Street. Another occupation will begin next week in Washington, DC.
A press release from the October2011 coalition announced that “… the People’s Uprisings seen around the world and in the United States will come to Washington, DC beginning on Thursday, October 6 when thousands will converge to begin a prolonged people’s occupation of Freedom Plaza.” The release claimed they were building on Arab Spring, European Summer, Madison and the Occupation of Wall Street.
The Freedom Plaza Occupation will demand that the government represent the people, not just the top 1 percent. The pledge, signed by thousands, calls for using our resources on human needs and environmental protection, not for war and exploitation. The October 2011 coalition stands with the American people on seven key issues:
- Tax the rich and corporations;
- End the wars, bring the troops home, cut military spending;
- Protect the social safety net, strengthen Social Security and improve Medicare for all;
- End corporate welfare for oil companies and other big business interests;
- Transition to a clean energy economy, reverse environmental degradation;
- Protect worker rights including collective bargaining, create jobs and raise wages;
- Get money out of politics…
Click here to read the rest of the article by Scott Galindez.
It sounds like an overly ambitious agenda, especially in view of the entrenched special interests opposing it. You might be tempted to think this is nothing more than the latest eruption by perennial troublemakers, the harebrained kids and “aging hippies” (as the New York Times described them) who cause riots at World Trade Organization meetings from time to time. (Click here to refresh your memory.) But this time I think the movement is broader than that.
On MSNBC yesterday, Dylan Ratigan interviewed a guy who is promoting a Constitutional amendment that would outlaw political contributions in federal elections. He was no wild-eyed revolutionary, just an American citizen who is fed up with the corruption in Washington.
Nobody is happy with the way things are in America. Nobody is happy with the way things are in the world.
I am reminded of the French Revolution. The ruling class had it pretty good in France but they kept on wanting more. One abuse followed another until the oppressed masses could take it no longer and savagery erupted.
Heads rolled – literally.
God protect America from a revolution like that. Pray that the powers that be will have enough sense to see what’s ahead if they relentlessly pursue their greedy self interest.
Pray that the president and the politicians will recognize what’s happening and that voters will wake up to the danger ahead.
Pray hard.
