This Is About You, Too,

It seems a little silly at first. Something as important-sounding as a General Assembly being organized around hand signals: thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs sideways for indifferent. A little fluttering wave in place of applause. There's also some irony in realizing many of the people working hardest to maintain order in this manner probably weren't exactly kids who colored in the lines. Yes it can be a little awkward. People who are used to plowing ahead and getting things done might feel a little impatient with a process that waits its turn. What is happening here and everywhere is something entirely new. This is not the way we usually run things. There is no board of directors, no Robert's Rules of Order. We are literally re-creating democracy from the sidewalks of nearly every city in this country. Everyone is welcome. Everyone is equal. And everyone has a chance to say what is on their minds.

I've always been a little in awe of what the founders of this country put together. That they created this amazing system with so many checks and balances and seemed to think of practically everything all of those years ago. And over the past few years I have thought, well no they didn't think of this: the greed, the inequality, the fact that even justice can be paid for or lost if you can't afford its price. But then a sign at Monday's rally showed that yes, yes they did foresee even the place we are at now.

“The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.”
― Thomas Jefferson

And so now it is up to us to put something in place that works again.

On Monday someone asked me why I was there. We all have specific reasons, although the media is making a bigger deal over those differences than we are. I replied "All of it. None of it is working anymore."

No matter what your personal motivation is I about bet that somewhere behind it is money. It is wrong to throw 100 year old women out of their homes so these houses can sit empty until they fall to the ground, when we all know that eventually those banks will profit from those homes. It is wrong to continue to destroy this planet because what's needed to be done to save it can't be bought or sold. It's wrong that a country that has been built by a strong labor movement is now dismantling the rights we have worked decades to achieve. It is wrong that our politicians no longer actually represent us but rather are paid for because of the costs of running for election. And because of their own personal lust for power. It is wrong that families have to put together fundraisers for medical care to save a child's life while insurance companies bring in piles of profits. It is wrong that the quality of education a child gets depends on the neighborhood they happen to live in. It is wrong that the same young adults who were told all their lives they had to attend college to make something of their lives now have nothing to show for that work except for loans they cannot pay. The list is nearly endless.

And don't tell me there isn't money. There is money. Every time a bank or corporation needs bailed out. Every time we have to fight a war. There's money for billionaires to buy presidential candidates and money for lobbyists to shove through laws that someone is willing to pay for too.

This isn't about socialism. I don't want the same as everyone else. I don't care if you're rich and I'm not. What I care about is everything in our lives that is now being bought and sold by a very few. Isn't there a saturation point when you can no longer possibly need so much money?! This is about what is fair. And it is about what will happen in each and every one of our lives over the next few years and forever

It's a small crowd in Toledo but every time I have been there, there have been a few new people. People who have come down because they have something to add and want to be heard. People of all ages and backgrounds and walks of life. People who show up knowing no one but come to say something no one else wants to hear. There is something happening now that resonates with all of them.

I don't have the answers. I don't think any one person does. I don't know where this leads. I do believe though that together we can work this out and I have to believe that we will.

But here's another fact. We cannot change society via facebook. It is a tool, yes, and certainly the internet is why this has spread so rapidly but it has also lead us to believe we are actively involved in something because we see it on our monitors every day. My concern about the success or failure of what is happening now isn't the weather. I am sure that public officials in most places believe this will fall apart on its own when it gets even colder or starts to snow. I believe we will work around that somehow, even if the actual structure changes in some way.

What will do us in is our collectively short attention span. We care about this until that comes along and the focus shifts. And NOTHING ever actually changes. So what have you done? It's not about a hierarchy of dedication. I believe the people who are actually occupying the camps, especially in this weather, are the true heroes but it is up to all of us, too. Do something to let them know you support this movement. Show up with a hot cooked meal or some cookies and hot chocolate. Stay for a General Assembly. Sign up for a work group or to teach something you know. Offer to do a load of laundry or clean up the camps. Donate some cash. Or some winter camping gear. Make phone calls and write letters in support of what your group is doing or to demand they be treated fairly. Use your imagination and think of one thing you can do to help. Most importantly JUST SHOW UP. The Occupations wherever you are need YOU too. I know you care. I know we all do. This is way too important to the future of our country, of the world, to leave it up to someone else.