By Myron Mathis, Columnist
It has been 193 days since the beginning of the Occupy movement. That’s 4,632 hours of defiance; 277,920 minutes of cold days and even colder nights in a park; 16,675,200 seconds of police brutality and antagonizing – all of which are small prices to pay for citizens to confront a lifetime of being treated like second-class citizens in their own country. Though marked by the stereotype of being a lower-class hippie fad, the Occupy movement is much more than that. It is a call to arms for all of the ordinary middle- and lower-class people who are fed up with corporate greed and the uneven distribution of wealth in America. For some strange reason, 1 percent of the total population in the U.S. holds roughly 42 percent (almost half) of the nation’s wealth.
Many would agree that it seems the Occupy movement, formerly having reached an impasse, is now about to be reborn with the impending occupation of Chicago, which will be a major catalyst to the movement’s revival. According to Adbusters.org, an astounding 50,000 people plan to Occupy Chicago on May 1 and remain there for an entire month. Of all places, one might be wondering: why Chicago?
Maybe the choice of venue has to do with the extremely unusual simultaneous G8 and NATO summits to be held there in May. In attendance will be 7,500 officials from 80 nations and over 2,500 journalists. The most commendable aspect of the Occupy movement is its relentlessness and persistence.
If those that need to hear your message aren’t listening, bring the message to them. If you want to have something done right, do it yourself. No one ever achieved something great by standing on the sideline and not trying.
There is an unmonitored line between pursuing/achieving the American Dream and uninhibited greed.
Many critics of the Occupy movement have never even gone to one of the protest sites and talked to someone who is participating in the movement. The protesters are ordinary people who simply demand a more just American society.
It has been affirmed since the birth of this country that it is the right of the people to reform the government if it is not doing the will of the people. Although this is more of a Wall Street issue than a governmental issue, Wall Street can be swayed by the government. The only way to achieve reform on Wall Street is through the passage of legislation put forward by the government.