Previously Occupied

I know some have questioned the motivations behind some of the protesters in Occupy Wall Street. Why should they feel they automatically win something by going to college, getting a degree, holding down a job, owning a home? The word “entitlement” is bandied about a lot, as if this is some whiny lot of panhandlers complaining about the change they get standing outside the bus station. It’s not that at all. Far from a movement, in the classic sense, it is a message: "We are the people whose lives have been disrupted by the machinations of Wall Street and Washington, D.C. in the name of greed and power and we're not happy about it."

For all that many would tarnish these protesters, claiming they are shirkers, layabouts, and well-dressed panhandlers, the members of Occupy Wall Street have a valid concern: the rules have been changed to favor those who are already wealthy and secure, at the expense of those seeking to join that circle. No one is saying that the desire to earn money, be wealthy, and have personal security is in the absolute, wrong; that is the goal of the vast majority of Americans. What is being said is that The Monied Powers and their minions are seeking to create exclusivity, to deny those self-same Americans the fruits of honest labor, and attempting to insulate themselves from their responsibility to the rest of humanity, as if they are somehow "above" us.

This nation's history has been driven on the ideals of freedom and independence of the individual, of hard work leading to greater rewards, of investment in the improvement of the standard of living. Those ideals were rolled into the “American Dream,” the idea that every American should become a landowner, should reap the benefits of their hard work, and become personally enriched through perseverance and sound financial management. It’s a wonderful dream, and it is obtainable, in theory; the problem comes when those who manage the systems under which the dream is pursued change the rules or alter the systems in ways that only seek to enrich themselves, and not the vast majority of Americans. Where greed is unfettered, the 99% suffer.

These people had expectations, based on what they were taught by their parents, what they were told in school, what the pundits and prognosticators kept pouring into the airwaves. Work hard. Get an education. Buy a home. Those were supposed to be some of the keys to success. And they were… until Washington, D.C. and Wall Street rigged the game. Not unlike a casino, The Monied Powers and their minions have stacked the odds in their favor, and shed not a tear for the long, sad stream of gamblers who wander away from the table bereft of what little they had and indebted for more than they can hope to make.

It isn’t about entitlement. It isn’t even about fairness. It’s about a level playing field. It’s about economic systems being controlled and regulated so that everyone, regardless of their economic status, can play and have an equal chance at success. As long as our government allows the economy to be run in the current fashion, the 99% have no hope of making the headway they should be making, given their efforts. Occupy Wall Street is the cry of the ultimate oppressed majority, people of every stripe who are tired of playing by a set of rules that only favor those who already have wealth. If this country is to operate as it should, everyone should have an equal chance at success — any other way, and we are doomed to a slow, choking, violent death.