A recent
acquaintance of mine gave me an article to read that discussed what drives some
corporate decisions to seek profits over more socially responsible
alternatives.[1] This relates directly to what it is that
drives the future of the Occupy Rapid City group. Our group and our society are faced with
numerous important issues that merit our attention and activism. How do we decide which issues we will
address? How do we decide the methods we
will use to address the issues?
Back in
October, 2011, Representative Barney Frank was interviewed by Rachel Maddow. Rep. Frank wanted to know where the members
of the Occupy Wall Street movement two years prior when he could have used
their energy in fighting for regulations that may have averted the economic crisis. He implied that the members of the Wall
Street Movement had not voted during the previous election. The following is an excerpt from that
interview, Rep. Frank said:
“. . . I
welcome the Wall Street energy. I don’t agree with everything some of the
people say. I agree with the general thrust of it. It’s not self-executing. It
has to be translated into political activity if it’s going to have the impact.
. .”[2]
It would be
very difficult to determine with accuracy whether members of the Occupy Wall
Street Movement did or did not vote in the previous election. However, it quite easy to observe their
willingness and ability to engage in civic minded public dissent and the
exercise of free speech. Further, it
appears that their dissent and exercise of free speech does have a political
impact.
During
general assembly meetings, Occupy Rapid City members discuss issues that are of
concern to the members locally and nationally.
How the group will respond to these issues is discussed and plans are
made. The importance and relevance of
the issues are considered and focus issues are identified.
In accordance
with decisions made during the general assembly meetings, the Occupiers
protested to raise awareness of the negative impact of large banks on society. The Occupiers urged consumers of banking
services to move their money out of the large, corporate institutions and into
smaller, local banks and credit unions.
This campaign was followed by protests focusing on buying from local
businesses not just during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday period, but
through out the year.
Teach-ins
were held to provide information to movement members. A variety of articles, videos, and books were
circulated among the members to improve the general understanding of the
issues. Discussion groups met and
conversations took place among the members help in the self education of the
members of the group
At the January
3, 2011, meeting of the Rapid City Common Council, members of Occupy Rapid City
were in attendance. Twelve members of
the group took to the podium to encourage the Council members to consider using
locally owned financial institutions for the officially designated depositories
for the City’s money. The council
voted unanimously to create a task forced to consider the protocol that is
used to select the designated depositories.[3] Clearly, the activities of the Occupy
movement have an impact.
Other
positive actions taken include activities like the Cash Mobs. Members of the Occupy group gather together
to shop as a group at local businesses instead of buying from large corporate
chain stores.[4] During the Bank Transfer Day or Move
Your Money Day campaigns the members of the organization and the general
public were successfully encouraged to move their money out of the large
corporate financial institutions and into local banks and credit unions.[5]
Currently,
the national Occupy Movement is focusing on the Citizens
United v. Federal Election Commission decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.[6] This decision treats corporations the same as
individuals allowing them to make unlimited political contributions. Protests are being organized that will focus
public attention on this issue. Efforts
are being made to propose legislation to effectively overcome the Supreme Court’s
decision. There is lots of support for
this effort and not just from the Occupy movement. Move to Amend,[7] Senator
Bernie Sanders,[8] and Public Citizen[9]
are just three examples of efforts focused on reversing the personhood status
of corporations resulting from the Supreme Court’s decision on the Citizen
United case. Society seems to be
catching on and picking up some of the energy that invigorates people when they
begin to exercise their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly.
The National
Defense Authorization Act[10]
as it relates to the issue of indefinite detention is also a topic of
discussion and planning at general assembly meetings. How the Occupy Movement responds to this
legislation has not been decided.
However, the concern over this issue by individual members is already
being displayed during public protests.
There are
those within the Occupy Movement that don’t believe that voting does any good, they
say the system is broken. Others in the
group hold voting in the very high regard and they cherish the right to vote,
while also considering voting a civic duty.
In today’s party politics voting is encouraged and the great campaign
battles are fought in the effort to win the most votes. However, once the votes have been cast the political
parties of today would prefer that voters stay home, don’t talk to the
opposition, and send money. In the
interest of securing these three objectives, political parties have learned to
use fear, decisiveness, and deception to accomplish their goals.
Education,
discourse, and action should be the objectives of the people, voters and
non-voters alike. These are elements of
the core principals of the Occupy Movement.
Learning about the issues leads to understanding the issues. Understanding the issues allows for
discussion of the issues. Discussion can
lead to consensus on the issues. A
consensus can lead to a clearer course of action to take to resolve issues.
Through
education, people become knowledgeable regarding issues facing society. This knowledge helps to overcome fear. Overcoming fear and ignorance helps to promote
more considerate and productive discussion relating to issues. When the people can discuss the issues they
do not have to rely on politicians to tell them what to think. Therefore, it should be easier to tell which
politicians work in the interest of the majority and which work in the interest
of the economically powerful minority.
In summary
of my opinion, the future for the Occupy Movement lies in continuing to build
on the core principles of its beginning.
- Continue to use peaceful methods to express dissent focusing on raising awareness of issues that impact the 99%.
- Promote broad based non-partisan consensus building.
- Provide educational opportunities to improve the general understanding of the issues facing society.
- Take action whenever possible to promote the positive impacts upon society.
[1] Look
Who Demands Profits Above All, by Robert Reich, Los Angeles
[2] Barney Frank To Occupy Wall Street: Where Were You
During The Last Midterms? by Colby Hall, 8:17 am,
October 18th, 2011 http://www.mediaite.com/tv/barney-frank-unhappy-with-occupy-wall-streeters-who-blame-me-for-consequence-of-their-not-voting/
[3] Council to look at keeping city bank accounts local,
Journal staff, Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 5:30 am,
[4] Occupy Brookings Organizes 'Cash Mob',
by Hailey Higgins, Keloland.com, Published: December 3, 2011, 9:56 PM
[5] Move Your Money Day a Success; Over $50 Million
Withdrawn From Big Banks, by Sarah Jaffe, AlterNet.org, November 8, 2011
[6] Wikipedia contributors. "Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 14 Jan. 2012. Web. 15 Jan. 2012.
[7]
MovetoAmend.org
[8] Sanders Files ‘Saving American Democracy Amendment',
Senator Bernie Sanders, sanders/senate/gov, December 8, 2011
[9]
Democracyisforpeople.org
[10] Wikipedia
contributors. "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2012." Wikipedia, The
Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 15 Jan. 2012. Web. 15
Jan. 2012.
1 comment:
I love a good bibliography. Good work, Greg!
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