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Thoughts about Occupy Wall Street

posted by Russ, October 25 in politics with tags

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The Occupy Wall Street movement has been going on for over a month, and has since spread to cities across the country (and world) and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. That being the case, I thinks it’s time for to weight in.

Right off, I will say that I agree with the general concept behind the protests, and certainly feel that the level of economic inequality and corporate greed in the world is reaching a point that does not bode well for the future of the economy, the United States, or any other country for that matter. Now, I’m not advocating for Socialism or Communism any other extreme system that right wing crazies like to assume all liberals want. I am not naive to the free market and how it works, and I don’t think more government is the answer. In a free market there is nothing wrong with making money, but what about those hard workers with strong work ethics who were fed a bullshit vision of the American Dream and are now paying the price? Greed is a nasty thing, and when the middle class keeps shrinking and the space between the haves and the have nots grows like it is, it’s not a good thing. Not for anyone.

Truth be told, I am happy to see protesting of any sort. It’s about time that my generation of political lazy asses has found something worth speaking up for. And so I support that. We live in a country where we have a right to speak freely when we don’t agree with things, and we should not be prosecuted for doing so regardless of the side of the fence on which we sit. There are too many people who accept blindly without thinking or making real decisions about what they think is best for themselves, so anything that provokes a little thought and discussion is a good thing. And back to the point, I think it’s high time people start questioning the direction that our consumer culture is taking us, as well as the the widespread implications of our excessive addiction to spending money we don’t have.

That all said, I understand people’s frustration with the protests, and I can see why people are sick of hearing about it. I understand the criticisms about lack of focus. And I agree that it doesn’t make sense to be out protesting and ranting about an unfair system if you’re jobless and living in your parent’s basement by choice. Laziness, irresponsibility and bad work ethic are not reasons to blame big corporations or our government, no matter how much they are in bed with each other.

I was lucky to be given an education and I was instilled with a solid work ethic. When I graduated college I moved across the country and found a job within a month of arriving. I’ve worked hard since then and have made a good life for myself. My money is managed responsibly, payments are always made on time, and I have a savings account to back me up if the economy decides to dump on me. My point is telling you this is that even in a bad economy and job market, I have managed to take care of myself.

However, there are definitely those who are have worked equally hard, and for reasons out of their control have been shit on. And in many cases, those reasons are unethical or immoral reasons at that. There are plenty of people out there who probably work much harder than me but haven’t managed to be as fortunate, who get up every morning and come home every night, upholding their end of the deal, and still continue to struggle. And so I stand with them, and we are the 99%.


Originally posted on Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 at 11:09 PM .

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