Arun. I've been going down to OWSNY daily as well. The article is lovely but misses a key point of the occupation. <br><br>The occupiers come from both the left and the right. People holding signs that say "End Capitalism" stand together with people holding signs that say "End the FED."<br>
<br>In the first day or two of the occupation the self-declared "socialists" dominated the GA and scared away many of the libertarians, but the liberty community has returned, is growing and being accepted as more and more people realize that "progressives" and "libertarians" agree on the biggest issues of the day: the imperial wars, drug prohibition, debt and the Federal Reserve.<br>
<br>Occupy Wall St isn't about "left" and "right", "progressive" or "conservative." It's about a process of direct democracy that is giving birth to a new political paradigm.<br>
<br>Below is copy from a flier I've been handing out:<br><br><br><br>
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<p style="line-height: 200%" align="CENTER"><strong><font size="6">We
Agree</font></strong></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%" align="CENTER"><strong><font size="3"><i><span style="font-weight: normal">In
2008, presidential candidates Ralph Nader, Ron Paul, Cynthia
McKinney, Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr signed a statement declaring
their agreement on the following principles:</span></i></font></strong></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%" align="LEFT"><span style="text-decoration: none"><b>1.
Foreign Policy: The Iraq War must end as quickly as possible with
removal of all our soldiers from the region.</b></span><span style="text-decoration: none">
</span><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">We</span></span></font></strong><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none">
</span></font></strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none">must
initiate the return of our soldiers from around the world, including
Korea, Japan, Europe and the entire Middle East. </span></font><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">We</span></span></font></strong><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none">
</span></font></strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none">must
cease the war propaganda, threats of a blockade and plans for attacks
on Iran, nor should we re-ignite the cold war with Russia over
Georgia. </span></font><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">We</span></span></font></strong><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none">
</span></font></strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none">must
be willing to talk to all countries and offer friendship and trade
and travel to all who are willing. </span></font><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">We</span></span></font></strong><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none">
</span></font></strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none">must
take off the table the threat of a nuclear first strike against all
nations. </span></font>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%" align="LEFT"><strong><span style="text-decoration: none"><b>2.
Privacy: We </b></span></strong><span style="text-decoration: none"><b>must
protect the privacy and civil liberties of all persons under US
jurisdiction.</b></span><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">
</span></span><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">W</span></span></font><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">e
</span></span></font></strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">must
repeal or radically change the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions
Act, and the FISA legislation. </span></span></font><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">We
</span></span></font></strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">must
reject the notion and practice of torture, eliminations of habeas
corpus, secret tribunals, and secret prisons. </span></span></font><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">We
</span></span></font></strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">must
deny immunity for corporations that spy willingly on the people for
the benefit of the government. </span></span></font><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">We
</span></span></font></strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">must
reject the unitary presidency, the illegal use of signing statements
and excessive use of executive orders. </span></span></font>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%" align="LEFT"><strong><span style="text-decoration: none"><b>3.
National Debt: We </b></span></strong><span style="text-decoration: none"><b>believe
that there should be no increase in the national debt. </b></span><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">The
burden of debt placed on the next generation is unjust and already
threatening our economy and the value of our dollar. </span></span></font><strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">We
</span></span></font></strong><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">must
pay our bills as we go along and not unfairly place this burden on a
future generation. </span></span></font>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%" align="LEFT"><strong><span style="text-decoration: none"><b>4.
Federal Reserve We </b></span></strong><span style="text-decoration: none"><b>seek
a thorough investigation, evaluation and audit of the Federal Reserve
System and its cozy relationships with the banking, corporate, and
other financial institutions</b></span><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">.
</span></span><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">The
arbitrary power to create money and credit out of thin air behind
closed doors for the benefit of commercial interests must be ended.
There should be no taxpayer bailouts of corporations and no corporate
subsidies. Corporations should be aggressively prosecuted for their
crimes and frauds. </span></span></font>
</p>
<p align="LEFT"><font size="2"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">Source:
</span></span></font><a href="http://www.votenader.org/weagree/">http://www.votenader.org/weagree/</a></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none" align="LEFT"><br><br>
</p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="4"><span style="text-decoration: none"><b>Libertarians
and Progressives agree on the important issues of the day:</b></span></font><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-weight: normal">
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="text-decoration: none" align="CENTER"><b>End the Wars,
Protect Civil Liberties, Stop Accumulating Debt, Audit the Federal
Reserve</b></p>
<p style="text-decoration: none" align="CENTER"><b>Don't let the
corporate media divide us with their culture war. We agree. We must
organize!</b></p>
<br>I'm at the library most days during the afternoon, between the GAs, with the Free/Libre/Open Solutions Working Group. I wear a very colorful hat. Come say hi!<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Sep 28, 2011 at 6:43 AM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ideasinc@ee.net">ideasinc@ee.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><u></u>
<div><br><br> <br>
I've been going down to the Wall Street protest nearly every day.Not only
is it growing, it is amazing to see how the protesters have managed to
create a non-commodified radical democratic space in the heart of global
capital.<br><br>
There is genuine potential in this occupation for revitalizing radical
left movements and perhaps even achieving a historical victory.<br><br>
But it will take a concerted effort from every single one of us. Please
take a few minutes to read this -- it's short!<br><br>
More important, please forward this to all your contacts asking them to
join in and likewise pass along the call.<br><br>
Best,<br>
Arun<br><br>
The Revolution Begins at Home<br>
By Arun Gupta<br><br>
What is occurring on Wall Street right now is truly remarkable. For over
10 days, in the sanctum of the great cathedral of global capitalism, the
dispossessed have liberated territory from the financial overlords and
their police army.<br><br>
They have created a unique opportunity to shift the tides of history in
the tradition of other great peaceful occupations from the sit-down
strikes of the 1930s to the lunch-counter sit-ins of the 1960s to the
democratic uprisings across the Arab world and Europe today.<br><br>
While the Wall Street occupation is growing, it needs an all-out
commitment from everyone who cheered the Egyptians in Tahrir Square, said
"We are all Wisconsin," and stood in solidarity with the Greeks
and Spaniards. This is a movement for anyone who lacks a job, housing or
healthcare, or thinks they have no future.<br><br>
Our system is broken at every level. More than 25 million Americans are
unemployed. More than 50 million live without health insurance. And
perhaps 100 million Americans are mired in poverty, using realistic
measures. Yet the fat cats continue to get tax breaks and reap billions
while politicians compete to turn the austerity screws on all of
us.<br><br>
At some point the number of people occupying Wall Street -- whether
that's five thousand, ten thousand or fifty thousand -- will force the
powers that be to offer concessions. No one can say how many people it
will take or even how things will change exactly, but there is a real
potential for bypassing a corrupt political process and to begin
realizing a society based on human needs not hedge fund profits.<br><br>
After all, who would have imagined a year ago that Tunisians and
Egyptians would oust their dictators?<br><br>
At Liberty Park, the nerve center of the occupation, more than a thousand
people gather every day to debate, discuss and organize what to do about
our failed system that has allowed the 400 richest Americans at the top
to amass more wealth than the 180 million Americans at the
bottom.<br><br>
It's astonishing that this self-organized festival of democracy has
sprouted on the turf of the masters of the universe, the men who play the
tune that both political parties and the media dance to. The New York
Police Department, which has deployed hundreds of officers at a time to
surround and intimidate protesters, is capable of arresting everyone and
clearing Liberty Plaza in minutes. But they haven't, which is also
astonishing.<br><br>
That's because assaulting peaceful crowds in a public square demanding
real democracy -- economic and not just political -- would remind the
world of the brittle autocrats who brutalized their people demanding
justice before they were swept away by the Arab Spring. And the state
violence has already backfired. After police attacked a Saturday
afternoon march that started from Liberty Plaza the crowds only got
bigger and media interest grew. <br><br>
The Wall Street occupation has already succeeded in revealing the
bankruptcy of the dominant powers -- the economic, the political, media
and security forces. They have nothing positive to offer humanity, not
that they ever did for the Global South, but now their quest for endless
profits means deepening the misery with a thousand austerity
cuts.<br><br>
Even their solutions are cruel jokes. They tell us that the "Buffett
Rule" would spread the pain by asking the penthouse set to sacrifice
a tin of caviar, which is what the proposed tax increase would amount to.
Meanwhile, the rest of us will have to sacrifice healthcare, food,
education, housing, jobs and perhaps our lives to sate the ferocious
appetite of capital.<br><br>
That's why more and more people are joining the Wall Street occupation.
They can tell you about their homes being foreclosed upon, months of
grinding unemployment or minimum-wage dead-end jobs, staggering student
debt loads, or trying to live without decent healthcare. It's a whole
generation of Americans with no prospects, but who are told to believe in
a system that can only offer them Dancing With The Stars and pepper spray
to the face.<br><br>
Yet against every description of a generation derided as narcissistic,
apathetic and hopeless they are staking a claim to a better future for
all of us.<br><br>
That's why we all need to join in. Not just by liking it on Facebook,
signing a petition at <a href="http://change.org" target="_blank">change.org</a> or retweeting protest photos, but by
going down to the occupation itself.<br><br>
There is great potential here. Sure, it's a far cry from Tahrir Square or
even Wisconsin. But there is the nucleus of a revolt that could shake
America's power structure as much as the Arab world has been
upended.<br><br>
Instead of one to two thousand people a day joining in the occupation
there needs to be tens of thousands of people protesting the fat cats
driving Bentleys and drinking thousand-dollar bottles of champagne with
money they looted from the financial crisis and then from the bailouts
while Americans literally die on the streets.<br><br>
To be fair, the scene in Liberty Plaza seems messy and chaotic. But it's
also a laboratory of possibility, and that's the beauty of democracy. As
opposed to our monoculture world, where political life is flipping a
lever every four years, social life is being a consumer and economic life
is being a timid cog, the Wall Street occupation is creating a
polyculture of ideas, expression and art.<br><br>
Yet while many people support the occupation, they hesitate to fully join
in and are quick to offer criticism. It's clear that the biggest
obstacles to building a powerful movement are not the police or capital
-- it's our own cynicism and despair.<br><br>
Perhaps their views were colored by the New York Times article deriding
protesters for wishing to "pantomime progressivism" and
"Gunning for Wall Street with faulty aim." Many of the
criticisms boil down to "a lack of clear messaging."<br><br>
But what's wrong with that? A fully formed movement is not going to
spring from the ground. It has to be created. And who can say what
exactly needs to be done? We are not talking about ousting a dictator;
though some say we want to oust the dictatorship of capital.<br><br>
There are plenty of sophisticated ideas out there: end corporate
personhood; institute a "Tobin Tax" on stock purchases and
currency trading; nationalize banks; socialize medicine; fully fund
government jobs and genuine Keynesian stimulus; lift restrictions on
labor organizing; allow cities to turn foreclosed homes into public
housing; build a green energy infrastructure.<br><br>
But how can we get broad agreement on any of these? If the protesters
came into the square with a pre-determined set of demands it would have
only limited their potential. They would have either been dismissed as
pie in the sky -- such as socialized medicine or nationalize banks -- or
if they went for weak demands such as the Buffett Rule their efforts
would immediately be absorbed by a failed political system, thus
undermining the movement.<br><br>
That's why the building of the movement has to go hand in hand with
common struggle, debate and radical democracy. It's how we will create
genuine solutions that have legitimacy. And that is what is occurring
down at Wall Street.<br><br>
Now, there are endless objections one can make. But if we focus on the
possibilities, and shed our despair, our hesitancy and our cynicism, and
collectively come to Wall Street with critical thinking, ideas and
solidarity we can change the world.<br><br>
How many times in your life do you get a chance to watch history unfold,
to actively participate in building a better society, to come together
with thousands of people where genuine democracy is the reality and not a
fantasy?<br><br>
For too long our minds have been chained by fear, by division, by
impotence. The one thing the elite fear most is a great awakening. That
day is here. Together we can seize it.<br><br>
--------------------------------------------<br>
Arun Gupta is the editor of <i>The Indypendent.<br>
</i><br><br><br></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Devin Balkind<br>Director, Sarapis Foundation<div><a href="mailto:devin@sarapisfoundation.org" target="_blank">devin@sarapisfoundation.org</a><br>@devinbalkind</div><br>
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