Setting: Albuquerque, October 11, Noon, 3rd and Roma in front of Bank of America ---
"Get back on the curb" and everybody quickly passes the word "get off the street, sidewalk only, don't block it". Cars drive by, the 50 to 75 people wave their signs at passing Albuquerque cars politely displaying the message that they are unhappy with Bank of America's policies, with their increased unethical fees and their control, through lobbyists, of our elected representatives votes. The signs show anger at the manipulation of mortgages. Hand written pleas demand accountability for the financial devastation and return of our tax money. "Don't block the sidewalk" the security guard says. At Wells Fargo, around the corner, a similar small group politely protests a rip off of their jobs, their security, their 401(k)s and the democracy they believed in. Police, security guards and bankers watch the demonstrations secure in the knowledge that this polite and courteous safety valve will not disrupt their day, will not disrupt their policies and will not change the control of our democracy by big money.
2000 years or so ago an angry Jew turned over the money changers tables for turning the Temple into a "den of thieves through their commercial activities". He was civilly disobedient. Without civil disobedience that eventually led to a revolution we would still be a colony of Great Britain. Without civil disobedience women would not have the vote. Without civil disobedience the unions would never have come to be. Without civil disobedience the civil rights movement would have failed. Imagine 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina outside Woolworth's "Whites Only" lunch counter. Now imagine that students David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, and Joseph McNeil had been told "don't come in, be polite and don't block the sidewalk. If you need to use the restroom go around to the one in the back". If these young people had not walked in and sat down at a counter, refused to leave and suffered the arrests and violence brought to bear on them by the establishment a key spark of the civil rights movement would have never existed. Without civil disobedience the Vietnam "War" could have continued indefinitely. Civil disobedience for Gandhi was the only way to convince the English that their occupation was illegal and immoral. "Don’t ask don't tell" would still stand if not for civil disobedience. No serious social movement has succeeded without civil disobedience.
Occupy Wall Street, the movement, started in New York City and now spread to 200 cities across America. This movement of ordinary Americans is demanding that our system act fairly, that our system provides justice for all incomes and all people. The movement demands that that Wall Street be accountable for bringing the country to its knees and stealing the people's tax money to cover their gambling. Occupy Wall Street demands that corporations be denied control of our Congress, We, the people, demand that banks contribute to the healing of our nation, We, the 99%, demand that our votes truly represent us and are not co-opted by money from corporations and wealthy individuals interested only in profit. The 200 supporting organizations across America who are in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street have used freedom of speech to express their views and their strong and angry feelings. They have also used historically important civil disobedience to occupy land near centers of financial power and non-violently resisted demands to stop their protests.
If you are happy with the financial situation in America, if you believe that our votes are not co-opted by big money you are part of the problem. If you believe that the rich should continue to increase their wealth at the expense of the 99% of America then you are part of the problem. If you believe that Occupy Wall Street and the 200 other solidarity organizations in cities throughout the United States including in Albuquerque, are performing un-American dangerous acts then you are part of the problem this country is facing. A serious challenge exists, not to capitalism but to the soul of our country. Democracy is the nation’s soul! When a corporation can donate millions of dollars to politicians to make sure it's profits continue despite the desires of their shareholders and the employees of the institution then we have a serious problem. If you believe corporations walk, talk, put on their clothes each morning before breakfast and are individuals with all the rights of an American citizen, they you are part of the problem. This corporate "citizen" can has influence far beyond your or my vote. This corporate "citizen is in the process of stealing your nations soul.
America faces a challenge. Capitalism is running amuck fighting regulation and raking in profits. This is not the America I want my children and grandchildren to grow up in. If you are unhappy if you are angry at the government and how it is treating you and what it is doing with your money then join "Occupy" movement. Speak out, rally and if necessary be civility disobedient. Be nonviolently civility disobedience but don't be afraid to say no to unjust power. Let this country know that we, the 99%, have had enough. This is a country created by people for people .In 1787 there were no corporations struggling with the ideas that went into our Constitution. No Corporation died in any war for your safety. It is really imperative that we all rally together to put people before profit. Vote out those politicians who have been bought by big business. Vote them out and make damn sure the people you vote in will represent you and not the profiteers. That is what being a citizen in the United States is all about. The only patriot in America is a person who stands up for one man one vote. It is the only process that guarantees you have a voice in how our county runs. It is the only path to dignity. Power does not hand over control without a fight. If you want jobs, justice and a voice then you have to fight for it and you have to believe it will be a hard fight. Civil disobedience is the only way to make power listen. It is the only way to get the justice we deserve. It would be better if the vote could do this but the vote has been stolen. You can bring it back. If you participate in the fight to bring democracy back to the people you are part of the solution. If you stand on the sidelines and hope for the best you are part of the problem. If you help regain our democracy in any way you are a true patriot. --- and you will feel fantastic!
