Oct 062011
Flipping through the channels I keep seeing main stream pundits claiming that the demonstrators are just there to be there, or that they hate America, or that they have no real complaints, and other unadulterated garbage. In fact, the demonstrators have released an impressive list of grievances that they call the General Assembly Declaration. You can read it at Raw Story, or you can see it read in the clarion voice of Keith Olbermann on Countdown.
It may be short on solutions, but so was the original Declaration of Independence, on which it is based.
While I may not agree with every single detail, the statement is more than worthy of support.
26 Responses to “Occupy Wall Street General Assembly Declaration”
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Revolution, by all appearances, is coming. Ya reckon the MSM will finally cover it when they actually topple the GUBMINT?
MSNBC might. 😉
I was impressed when I read it online yesterday. I see nothing unreasonable about it.
I agree.
Thanks for sharing this! Some commentators claim that the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators are a disorganized hodge-podge, but this declaration suggests some unity in purpose.
That’s why I posted it. 🙂
UNITY in purpose– key words— seems like I recall a document starting with powerful words stating a purpose… “WE The People….. yep— , UNITY OK–
Betcha the Brits laughed at that also——coming from a rag tag rabble—
Well, back then Brits did dress like Baggers. 😉
occupy wall st started on my birthday I am hoping that a better world will be our present.
Welcome, Frank. 🙂
Perhaps you are the world’s present.
MAY THE GOALS EXPRESSED IN THE DECLARATION BE SWIFTLY REALIZED! LONG LIVE OCCUPY WALL STREET!
Amen, Pope Jack!
WIN!
Welcome, Debbie. 🙂
I certainly hope so.
I thought the beauty of it was that a lot of the people there did NOT know exactly why they were there, but that they weren’t happy with how things are (for them, for others?). There’s nothing wrong with that, and I thought that was actually the strength of the gathering. What followed was a lot of people paying close attention to exactly what the organizing was about, and deciding for themselves. Just a good old fashioned town square meeting (with town criers and all lol). After the formal announcements, what then followed were a lot of conversations between friendly strangers, about why they came, what their situation was, and literally trying to work out in their minds and with others knowledge, of why they might feel dissatisfied in the current, and seemingly permanenet, capitalistic, highly corporate and materialistic country. Some of the interesting winding conversations in the crowd led to real philosopical, and social theories and ideas. One was that the corporate financial culture (competition, no real respect for persons, persons as a means to an end tendencies), has actually trickled down , or spread to the rest of “non-financial ‘ culture (i.e. social situations, relationships, how people treat each other in general, the idea of “winners” and “losers” in society, also including how family members perceive and treat each other in the light of “Money”, where is the sister or brother on the ladder as compared to the others (is the uncle a ‘louse’ because he is not wealthy, but in debt as a doctor, is the father considered the hero because he is wealthy through empty investing, or predatory lending, buying student loans from bank to bank?
Welcome, Brian. 🙂
You make an excellent point. Would it be fair to say that you’re still in the asking the right questions stage, a step that necessarily precedes finding solutions?
Welcome to “Shock Doctrine” Mexican style government
Were Stealing for the rich is legal.
Corporate laws are for the elite few.
They pass the laws. They cannot be prosecuted.
News organizations owned by their corporations.
Pictures will be taken to keep people who protest.
Pictures will be used to keep them from getting jobs.
Working people have no voice in US Government.
Welcome, David. 🙂
I disagree with your attitude. I believe this country is redeemable.
Susanne R on Care2Â — “What really bothers me is the media’s reluctance (or refusal) to cover this important, history-making event. It’s another example of the amount of control “the other 1%” has over everything that goes on in this country. Information is withheld from us or manipulated to put “them” in a favorable light, and a perfect example of that is the fact that many people who are suffering at the hands of the “wealthiest 1%” voted the politicians who do their bidding into office, and will probably continue to do so.”
In the middle ages in Europe, the Catholic Church controlled the population by not allowing them to learn to read or write. Only priests, and not even all of them, received an education in reading and writing. Everyone else had to memorise and pass things orally. Is today’s media any different? The media is owned and controlled by the Rupert Murdocks of this world, part of the 1% and some of them are trying to quell the people by manipulating information for their own benefit. And they have been successful with some people. But the lights are starting to go on all around the world. We talk about the Arab Spring, the awakening of people in Arab countries to injustices being perpetrated against them by their 1%. To me, this year is a Human Spring! It is about addressing injustices whatever and wherever they are. Our methods might be different in addressing the issues, but the spirit is the same.
Everybody, let your spirits spring forth and embrace the new reality. Don’t be afraid. The only constant in life is change! (words my grandfather told me, and he was a lovely and wise man.) Easy to say but harder to do.
In reading the Declaration, I find it reasonable. I may not give each point equal weight, but such is individual values and beliefs, and this makes it no less reasonable or relevant.
The OWS is certainly spreading. There is a planning session for an OWS event on 15 October 2011 in Vancouver, BC called ‘Occupy Vancouver’. The planning session is Saturday (tomorrow) and the organisers have invited the city police to the organising meeting in hopes to keep the gathering peaceful. No repeat of the Stanley Cup riot wanted. I’m going to try to find more information to share and go to the protest. I will keep you up-to-date.
I agree, Lynn. MSM are corporate owned and have their own corporate agenda. Were the MSM doing their job, I wouldn’t be doing part of it.
If anybody is interested, here is the URL for Occupy Vancouver.
http://occupyvancouver.com/index.php?page=1
Looking at the website, there is some planning done but the main planning session is tomorrow, Saturday 08/10/11 with the main protest starting 15/10/11. I just hope that the idiots from the June riots won’t show up and that liquor won’t be present.
Thanks, Lynn. Occupy Portland coming shortly. 🙂
Some of the world’s worst atrocities have been committed by governments born out of such popular uprisings. It is right to be angry at the greed and corporatism that is so pervasive in our government. But, the principles at the heart of a revolution must be such that it leads to stable protection of rights. In the Decl of Ind the principles of the preamble are equality and natural rights endowed by a Creator. Simple historic perusal reveals that limited government best protects the rights of the people because the power and the government are separate. If the power is in the government then there is no limit to its abilty to take rights for the “common good,” which ends up being only for an elite’s good. Republican (style of gov’t not the GOP) gov’t and separation of powers provides the boundary to keep the voice of power separate from the decision makers. There will always be greed when there is more than one person in a room (even then it is only because it is not always obvious in the one person). Be careful of advocating a gov’t that is “too democratic”. Latin America, the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, etc. were not places where human rights were protected. Limit government’s scope and you will free it to check corporation’s greed and their own.
Welcome David. 🙂
I could support no changes that did not keep human rights in the forefront, and have used the same examples as a caution against violent change. However, I found nothing in the Declaration that would interfere with human rights.
As I was indicating in the post, the problem will come with the structure of the government, the method of enforcement or emplacement. Limited Government. Republican Representation. Separation of Powers. These are the structures that have protected rights. The Declaration has a lot of good ideas, but those on the ground living out the structure, like the General Assembly in NY are working from a political and social structure that could destroy the human rights they seek to protect.
So that I can understand you better what should the demonstrators be doing differently?