First Stop Wall Street, Next Stop America

Change is in the air, and it’s a beautiful thing.

Thousands of modern American citizens are taking to Wall Street and cities around the world in attempt to make our voices heard. At the moment, the mainstream media and the older generations that live in the same country as us are writing this off, but revolution and change has to start somewhere.

As I talk to people from other walks of life about this movement, I realize that they truly don't get it.

People are always saying, "why won't somebody think about the Children?" or talking about "the debt burden our children will face." Well, you're talking about us, not the next generation or two. We are the ones facing the financial burdens created by your failed policies and ways of life and it needs to change, that is the message being sent across the country today.

Banks that were bailed out by our taxpayer dollars (yes, we pay taxes too) are scarcely giving out loans to employers, which is causing a tremendous decrease in new jobs around the country. Not to mention that they are already nickel and dime-ing us on student debt.

We were brought up being told about the American Dream. A dream of growing up free to be who you want to be or what you want to be and going to school, then coming out and having a world of opportunities at your feet. The truth of the matter is that it is exactly as it sounds, a dream, lacking reality or substance. Hundreds upon thousands of qualified graduates enter the 'real world' with debt and no one willing to hire them, no matter the amount of time and effort put into looking for work.

Let's not even get into what may happen if they or a family member gets sick. Just let me say from experience, even with good medical insurance, they will still pay more money out of pocket than they ever dreamed of on doctors visits and medications.

This country, which these protestors are embodying the true spirit of, spends more money on invading other nations, bailing out corrupt (and failed) financial systems, and incarcerating citizens than it does in investing in its future as well as the future of its people.

To quote Dee Snider, "We're not gonna take it...we're not gonna take it anymore".

We voted for change and it was put into the White House, but the obstructionist ways of old America have stopped the change from being implemented. It's time that we take to the streets until change truly occurs. Real ideas and solutions have been put out there, but a bunch of ill-informed people wearing tea bags on century old hats are taking the country hostage on the side of the big corporations, which created this mess.

All that we want is to live our lives the way that our Founding Fathers intended. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. When did that become a vilified phrase?