the great disruption

There’s no denying that there is a clear restlessness throughout this world.  With global uprisings from Tunisia to Greece, Libya to Wall Street, history has turned over a new page, taking a big shift into an era of The Great Disruption.  But regardless of what weapons used to effect silence, words will always retain their power.

We’re living in a time where the people of this country, and the world are not satisfied, demanding more transparency and rights than ever before.  The rise of new technology and social media has really changed the world forever, and countries that were once closed off with restricted mindsets have woken up in part due to technology connecting all of us.

In this day and age, look how powerful the tools of free speech are, what one Facebook post or Twitter update can do?  How a trending topic can start a Revolution.

It just seems that this system’s limits have been reached and a massive reformation is in order for government and corporations.  There is far too much bureaucracy, greed, enablement and massive amounts of petty loop holes that end up screwing somebody over whether it’s the law, government, or business.

People are upset, and I think a lot of their concerns are legitimate.  Having been to Occupy Wall Street, Philadelphia, South Jersey and Atlantic City, I have had the chance to meet with, observe and interview participants and facilitators of these protests.  Unfortunately, the messages have been skewed, manipulated and in some cases hi-jacked, through various media coverage and the people that have supported and shown up to the Occupations.

From my personal experience, media is a dangerous, dangerous thing.  A picture goes up with something carefully worded and immediately your audience is being told to think a certain way about something rather than being given the information and allowing them to form their own opinions.  It’s journalism 101, and it’s been forgotten.  Why?  Simply because most people/Americans don’t want real journalism, they want entertainment and they want to be told what to think instead of having to think for themselves.  They immediately believe their “camps” whether that’s left or right and that is that.  I have watched this Occupation become confused with rash generalizations that the groups are simply against corporations when in truth, the heart and soul of the protests are not against Capitalism and corporations, but rather in opposition to what some of them are doing and how some of their money is “controlling Washington,” with some corporations donating large amounts of money to the politicians in charge of regulating them, for one example.  Now it’s not entirely the media’s fault either.  It’s not their job to advance an agenda or thought process but it is their job to report it and share it.  With no distinct end game solution or particular attainable demand but rather a bunch of them, some rather scattered, some very legitimate, it’s not surprising that there is confusion and misrepresentation on the part of both the media and some of those protesting.

However, just read some of these and tell me they’re not legitimate concerns?  Read these and tell me America is doing just fine and everything is great just as it is, with a tyrant governemnt that has overstepped its reach into the lives of its people and, as one friend put it, “the bastadization of Capitalism” we have that happens to be in bed with the oppressive government is doing everything right.  For just one second, (wait, I know this might be asking the impossible.. damn it, I asked the impossible) but lay your political positions aside and just think here, what we have going isn’t all right, and we all have a different idea for the solution, but let’s just agree that something is out of order and needs massive change.  There is something very noble and very American about standing up to corruption and injustice and pointing it out rather than letting it happen and go unsaid.

The occupation is here to stay, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, it’s only getting started, you’re seeing the early stages and preview of the new american revolution whether you want to admit it or not, but we’re surely on the brink of something, not exactly sure what, but something, whether that is good or bad I guess we will find out.  This will all be portrayed as a Great Disruption until it’s forced to take a big shift..