our new reality

Frustrated by a feeling of powerlessness over taxation policies, economic inequality and a shattered confidence in what was once the great idea of America, it is no wonder that ‘We the People’ my generation in particular, is angry.  And rightfully so..  There is something terribly wrong with corporate greed, the money that controls Washington, the paying and buying of Politicians.  Surely there are those more responsible for this crisis than others, and they should be held accountable..

Instead of moving forward and advancing as a society, America has taken a back seat in recent years.. where new ideas and technology leave the potential for new jobs, old systems, leaders and companies are unwilling to budge.  (it’s 2011 and we are still completely dependent on oil for cars?!  cut me one.)

Just a few years ago we didn’t have this mess.  There were no Tea Parties, no Occupy movements, just the stupid two party system battling over it’s age old disagreements, the country headed straight for a downfall, none knowing ‘excactly’ when but just blowing it off for a future generation to deal with until the whole bottom dropped out in 2008.  I remember being in middle school and even high school thinking America was kind of pretty much on-top of the world, not too much to worry about… uprisings happened in other countries.. and then – the plummet of the modern day Roman Empire began tipping uncontrollably off a cliff and now, being a young college graduate, I am extremely anxious and concerned for this country.  Don’t live in the false illusion that this is a democracy.  It has aspects of a democracy, and maybe more so than other countries, but the reach that this now oppressive government has is unacceptable.  Conservatives, Liberals, Democrats, Independents, Republicans, Tea Partiers… all of you have the right to be mad.  The United States Government has its hands in every aspect of our lives and it was never meant to be this way.  The fact that the Tea Party and the Occupy movement exists just proves that something is terribly, terribly wrong.

Having been to multiple Tea Parties, various events and protests in Washington, Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Philly, the underlying concerns are all very similar despite the drastic difference in politics.  We The People are not happy with the government, period.  Unfortunately, in some cases, the Occupy movement seems to be somewhat hi-jacked by progressive leftist media as an ‘opposition to the Tea Party’ which is most certainly is not, or at least not what it was intended.  The media is excellent at playing the game it always plays, the only game it knows, turning absolutely everything into a war between Left and Right.

Don’t get me wrong, The Tea Party does attract some far right ultra conservative lunatics as does the Occupy movement draw in some crazy far left socialists, (these two, for some reason, get all the press) but both of these things were not meant to simply side with a party, they’re bigger than that, both expressing similar frustrations and proving that something is horribly wrong in America.

Occupy Wall Street was started by Ad Busters to mimic an Arab Spring, a social media inspired revolution that we witnessed online and on television, some of us may have even participated in what happened in Egypt and Tunisia via facebook and twitter.  The tremors of the revolution quickly spread to Syria, Libya, Jordan, Bahrain and Yemen… Social media toppled one oppression and continues to change a region..

Although Zucotti Park in Lower Manhattan isn’t exactly Tahrir Square, on the first day of Occupy Wall Street, I didn’t think the movement would spread like it did or be a consistent Drudge headline.  When we got to Zucotti Park it was interesting to actually “see” members of the global hacker vigilanties: Anonymous, standing in solidarity and setting up a little command center.  A few days later, a friend and I went back to Manhattan to check up on the Occupation and at that point it seemed to have went from slightly structured to chaotic with no real organization..  Occupy Philly on the other hand, was and remains quite the opposite.  If anything it was actually an uplifting experience to see and hear the people gathered at City Hall having organized meetings and respectful discussions, hearing each other out, sharing ideas like a real open democracy.  The approach from the police was also much different from the NYPD.  Instead of coming at the protesters with a blockade of resistance they instead went about it from another approach, a very Liberty loving Philadelphia way of doing things, something I didn’t quite expect, but should have from the city that started freedom.  The other Occupied cities should look to Philly as a model.

Manhattan’s Zucotti Park (re-named “Liberty Plaza” by the Occupiers) was sent an eviction notice by Brookfield Properties, the company that owns it.  The park was to be cleaned on Friday, no longer allowing sleeping bags or tents but now has been called off…postponed   It is rather interesting that Diana Taylor, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s girlfriend, sits on the board of directors of Brookfield Properties… 

I’m not certain what will come about from all of this but the people are uprising, from the far right to the far left and everyone in-between.  The people need to have more of a chance, a better way to have their voices and ideas heard rather than just ‘those with the money and connections.’  There should be no reason my generation should go to college, get masters degrees and still be unemployed.  It is ‘our’ future that is being robbed and we do need to take that back.  And the government.. it needs to back off.. the reason we’re in this mess in the first place is because of its involvement in far too much.  It all may seem unorganized, and maybe a lot of it is, but maybe it’s because America just has so many issues..

Stay tuned for live continuous coverage from Occupy Philly, Occupy Wall Street and soon, Occupy Atlantic City from thejkinz on Twitter and Facebook.