JEFF NOWAK — Editor-in-Chief
If you’ve been sleeping in a tent in the middle of a major city surrounded by signs reading “99%” you already know; if not, then let me explain why the Occupy campaign is a waste of time.
It began with Occupy Wall Street—a movement that by and large made some sense. It was called a revolution, an uprising against corporate greed, gluttonous spending and shady business practices. It was focused on the 99 percent of America that makes up the middle and lower classes airing their grievances against the one percent that makes up the upper echelon of society.
Since the movement began a tidal wave of agreement and anger has ensued. As of Oct. 9, there are Occupy movements in over 70 US cities—including Boston and Hartford.
The issue with these tenting individuals is the fact that they have no goal—or at least not one that can be defined.
The only unifying force behind this crusade, revolution, outdoor excursion, whatever you’d like to call it, is mutual anger.
Anger, however, is not enough to affect change. We live in America, a country that already accepts and for the most part supports peaceful protest and new ideas. However, what the Occupy movement seems to be supporting is the idea of new ideas without even having an idea of what they want.
There is no goal, simply questions.
The list of demands put forth by Occupy Wall Street ranges from open borders to equal shares of all public businesses.
They feel that if all their demands are met, the World will cease to be an enigmatic mess of broken promises, unemployment and economic disparity.
What they seem to have forgotten—while devising the brilliant plan of camping for the cause—is the system in which they live.
The system is broken; I will be the first to admit that. Progress seems to have stalled and our split Congress has become a quagmire with John Boehner and the Republican Party pitted against anything Democrat
However, when something is broken and that something is the fabric of society and the lynchpin to what has made our country what it is, the system should not be changed—it should be fixed.
Democracy and capitalism exist because there is choice, upward mobility and the concept of representative government. Change can not be affected by the circumvention of any and all appropriate channels.
Occupy has it half right—things need to change.
Unfortunately, an ignorance-fueled tirade on American bigwig society simply to attempt a cure for societal dysfunction is nothing but dysfunctional in its own right.
