'Occupy Wall Street'

Something amazing happened on September 17: 1,000 people began a march through the streets of New York City to protest social and political inequality and corporate greed. Participants of all ages, all races, all religions, all political persuasions united in the belief that the middle class is being screwed. This march, now called “Occupy Wall Street,” has and now, even to the UK.

One thing is clear, whether you agree with these folks or not, “Wall Street” (investment bankers, millionaires & billionaires) keep getting richer and richer, while “Main Street” (teachers, the struggling middle class and average Joes) are getting poorer and poorer. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that bankers and hedge fund managers should be held responsible for all the ills of the world; it’s that Wall Street has become emblematic of an entire economic and political system that no longer seems to have the best interests of most Americans at heart. While Wall Street was bailed out of a crisis created by their own greed, Main Street was, and still is, suffering and no one is offering us a bail out.

What I think the “Occupy Wall Street” folks have figured out is that there is no voice in current American politics for the average person, the so-called “99 percent” of us who make huge economic contributions to this nation and who deserve better treatment. Many of our so-called political leaders say the protesters are not politically cohesive and have no specific set of demands or changes to accomplish, and this may seem true at the moment, but it's ridiculous to say they don't stand for anything.

I admire that the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters have the courage to make transforming our country their No. 1 obligation. As long as we put survival first rather than patriotism, the moneyed power elite have control over us. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Monroe, John Hancock and Paul Revere all knew this. This is what will change the world.