The power of occupation – this day shall live in virtue

by YankeeJim | December 7, 2011 at 08:36 am

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Yesterday, I was in downtown Baltimore and saw at the Inner Harbor “Occupiers” camped in tents in the downpour that hasn't stopped since. Why do people do this? It takes a whole lot of personal logistics aided by organizations committed to doing the best they can to make the experience survivable.

Within sight of the encampment is the USS Constellation and in the distance is Ft. McHenry where the citizens from Baltimore turned back the British attack in the War of 1812. This place is steeped in history.

To me, “Occupy” has become the label and symbol for the vast majority of Americans who are unhappy with the way government is performing and frustrated with the way the economy is performing.

Who participate in acts of protest and civil disobedience of this kind? Activists are usually well educated young people who have no jobs, but have time and energy to share their displeasure as ambassadors for the rest of us who are straddled with responsibilities to stay at work and earn an income while they can.

While December 7th is a day that will live in infamy for the attack on Pearl Harbor, it is a day of virtue for the “Occupiers” who seek solutions to our economic woes. Protest is a part of the process toward solving problems that otherwise aren’t getting fixed. Case in point: Supercommittee.

“"For most Americans, the basic bargain that made this country great has eroded," Obama said. "Long before the recession hit, hard work stopped paying off for too many people. Fewer and fewer of the folks who contributed to the success of our economy actually benefited from that success. Those at the very top grew wealthier from their incomes and their investments -- wealthier than ever before. But everybody else struggled with costs that were growing and paychecks that weren’t -- and too many families found themselves racking up more and more debt just to keep up."

"There are some who seem to be suffering from a kind of collective amnesia. After all that’s happened, after the worst economic crisis, the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, they want to return to the same practices that got us into this mess. In fact, they want to go back to the same policies that stacked the deck against middle-class Americans for way too many years. And their philosophy is simple: We are better off when everybody is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. I am here to say they are wrong."

And then he updated the formulation that won him the presidency in the first place: "These aren’t Democratic values or Republican values. These aren’t 1 percent values or 99 percent values. They’re American values." Actually, he updated it twice. "This isn’t about class warfare. This is about the nation’s welfare."”