Quoted below and read aloud by Keith Olbermann above, yesterday's first official statement from the General Assembly at #OccupyWallStreet deftly and powerfully illustrates the threat to life and liberty represented by unchecked and unregulated accumulation of power by multi-national corporations with bases in America. Before they can be expected to identify the solution, we should — and I am certain History will — acknowledge and appreciate the heroic acts of patriotism that have finally forced the nation to focus on the problem.
The statement focuses on the impact that corporate corruption of our democracy, and the policies it produces, has on the quality of life for human beings in America. That is the essence of the matter, is it not? Pundits and political activists have looked at corporate spending to influence our government through the very narrow-minded frame of "which political party does the spending help?" instead of what is the impact on the PEOPLE who live in this country? The Occupiers have it right. What matters is the quality of life for the 99%, not the profit margin for the 1%. It's as simple as that.
Despite criticisms that the Occupy phenomenon lacks a clarity of vision or purpose, this official statement matches up quite nicely with what I learned from founding members of #OccupyDC. See video below. I would venture a guess that the same messaging consistency is present in the emerging occupations around the U.S. This thing is big. This thing is growing. And it's not going away.
The United States of America was born out of a collective response to an abuse of power — a defiant response to a collusion between the British government and a corporation with which it was deeply engaged: the East India Tea Company. Now, more than two centuries later, a new generation of patriots must use the tools that were bequeathed to us by our founders — including the right to free speech and the freedom to assemble — to respond to an abuse of power that is many times more potent. That is why I am supporting and documenting #OccupyDC, now in its 6th day at McPherson Square. That is why I am supporting and documenting the October 6 occupation beginning today at Freedom Plaza. And that is why I am helping to plan the Citizens Intervention at the US Capitol on Oct. 29th (I'll be too busy producing the event to document it — to this I am hoping others will step up).
As Jon Stewart points out in the hilarious segment below, one spark for the American Revolution was a felony act of civil disobedience from which the Tea Party borrowed its name. Stewart lambastes Sean Hannity and other character actors in corporate media for hypocritical responses to a genuine grassroots movement (after two years of cheerleading and orchestrating the Tea Party).
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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In fairness, participants in the "Tea Party" were genuine in their intent. Many shared the frustrations of the Occupiers and the 99% in fact. But, their overriding narrative — the broadcasts that told them where to assemble for instance — was a media-orchestrated backlash against the outcome of the 2008 election. And, as Stewart points out, the result of an election is NOT necessarily an abuse of power. The 2008 election was fairly held and undisputed. Truly, a semantic construction that links our founders to cynical obstructionism and hyper-partisan electioneering made possible by the Tea Party is disingenuous and ahistorical.
Of course it is possible for governments to abuse power. No one is for unlimited government. That would be a dictatorship. But it should be clear by now that corporately-funded "news" networks and corporately-funded populist movements aim to destroy our government at their own, and at our nation's peril. Government — that is, government of, by, and or the People — is all that stands in the way of corporate abuse of power. That is why it is so crucial that the people of #OccupyWallStreet continue to inspire our nation to engage and embody our system of government before it is too late.
Now, please read the full text of the statement from the #OccupyWallStreet General Assembly and ask yourself if any of the abuses listed here have improved your life, or the lives of anyone you know.
Declaration of the Occupation of New York City
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*
To the people of the world,
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us and make your voices heard!
*These grievances are not all-inclusive.
