The time for change has finally arrived. For years we have listened to complaints about the way the government is run. We have watched large corporations funnel money into political campaigns to get legislation passed that benefits their own personal interests. We watched as citizens’ tax money went into bailing out companies who were fiscally irresponsible and then we stood by as those CEO’s that we bailed out continued to get absurd bonuses and disproportionate salaries. America’s current system is failing.
Beginning with a small following online, the idea of Occupy Wall Street sprung from the dissatisfaction of the citizens and began bringing attention to the problems in the government. Soon after, a small gathering began in New York City; people started living in a park near Wall Street appropriately named Liberty Square. Every day for three weeks, these people peacefully marched towards Wall Street singing, chanting and calling out for change. They claimed to represent the 99 percent of the population who does not benefit from the capitalist system as it is. The number of people supporting the movement is growing daily, and not just on Wall Street. Around the country, occupy movements are sprouting up, occupying cities like Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, and now Tucson. This combined movement is being called Occupy Together.
The message of the movement is vague, but mostly it calls for change. Most of the ideas are centered on economic change because the implications of our current capitalist system mean that we have a disproportionate amount of the population taking too much money for their own gain. What the occupy movement is trying to do is spread the money that has been accumulated by few, to the masses. If this were to work we would no longer be making progress to make the most money, we would be making progress to benefit society as a whole.
Occupy Together is run by an entirely democratic system. A general assembly meets in the park and in order to make a decision the people must come to a full consensus, the way democracy first began in Rome. While having no central leadership, the movement is digitally organized. Messages are sent out as to when and where the groups are occupying, and people meet and go from there. This is the wave of the future. The start of change can be as easy as hitting the send button.
Occupy Together isn’t about supporting a political agenda: it’s bigger than Republican or Democrat. The movement is about supporting humanity and trying to make the world a better place. I’m not going to stand up on a soapbox like Brother Jed and declare that the Occupy movement is perfect because that simply isn’t true. The goals that the movement is trying to reach are extremely idealistic. But with the way our country is headed right now, we could use a little more idealism in our lives.
— Daniel Desrochers is a chemistry freshman. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
