We Also Know That the People Can Rule Better than the Elites
By Kevin Zeese
As the Occupation of Wall Street continues and spreads across the country, with the occupation of Washington, DC scheduled to begin on the anniversary of the Afghanistan War, Thursday, October 6, the media, politicians and punditry think we don’t know. But we do. Protest is growing, across the country on a wide range of issues. The rapid spread of the “Occupy Movement” in less than two weeks shows this will be something the government will have to deal with. The people are fed up and these non-violent protests should not be ignored or hidden from view.
We know these people’s occupations are growing, despite the corporate media doing its best starve them with lack of coverage. We know the fear of Wall Streeters, who the police are protecting behind barricades from those who protest them. We see banks adding extra security to protect themselves from angry, but peaceful, protesters who know the corruption of their bailout, their usury, their abusive foreclosure practices, their avoidance of taxes and their off-shore cash havens. Yes, banks should be afraid. When the police abuse protesters, we know their fear, we know they’ve been assigned to stifle dissent in the land where “Congress shall make no law abridging” our Freedom of Speech and Assembly. When Mayor Bloomberg promises to give protesters a place to exercise their Free Speech, we know he means to push us away so our Freedom of Speech is a mirage because we cannot be seen or heard.
And, all of this adds up to knowing how afraid and insecure the political and economic elites are. After years of legalized thievery through tax breaks for the wealthy, bailouts for Wall Street and big business, hundreds of billions in annual in corporate welfare – the people know they have been robbed with the aid of those we have elected to represent us (not them). We know that the 400 wealthiest Americans have wealth equal to 154 million of us and that the wealthiest 1% has wealth equal to 95% of Americans. The elites should be afraid, because we know.
The fear of the ruling class is palpable. They know that if more Americans read or see the occupation of Wall Street and the coming occupation of Washington, DC that many more will join. We know the political system is dysfunctional, unable to respond to crisis problems and corrupted by corporate cash. We must take to the streets to show them – we know. The nation’s capital will look like Tahrir Square, unless they can hide the rebellion that is developing. The members of Congress and the billion dollar presidential candidate in the White House are branded with the corporate logos of their funders. Their blatant corruption is an open secret. The Wall Street cabinet of President Obama is already obvious to all – but an American revolt will show the elites how angry we are that the thieves were put in power rather than prosecuted.
But, we also know that we have more power than we realize. We can reach out broadly – more broadly than has ever been possible, each person can reach thousands or tens of thousands, some even hundreds of thousands. The Internet has opened up communications so that the corporate media’s credibility declines every day it fails to report reality. And, when they make the mistake of lying about these protests, as they always do, hundreds of thousands will be told the truth by a massive independent media that has become democratized so that everyone can now be a media outlet. We know we can reach more people than cable news outlets and newspapers. In just 11 days the #occupywallstreet has been tweeted more than 750,000 times. As their readers and viewers shrink, the independent media audience expands. The tipping point is near.
The elites may think that keeping the truth off the air will create stability, but covering up the truth does not stop the fissures from continuing to grow. The fissures – the divide between the 99% of Americans and the elites becomes larger as more people are evicted or foreclosed on, as more Americans slip out of the middle class, as poverty rises throughout the country, as student debt becomes a massive trillion dollar bubble and as Americans see a future without much hope. Suppressing these divisions through controlled media and false politics makes political and economic systems prone to “surprise” system implosion. The U.S. in on the verge, or maybe even in the midst, of sweeping change that we will look back on say – ‘where did that come from.’
The power is shifting. Those who think themselves to be all powerful today will find that their power was fragile. The pillars that hold them up are weakening as more realize they are on the wrong side of history. Members of the military have seen the truth of American wars that are not about bringing democracy but about exploitation, and members of the military also see how they are mistreated leading to record suicides and veterans dominating the homeless population. Members of police forces across the country see how their salaries are held back as their health care and pensions are threatened. Civil servants rather than being treated as professionals who make government work are derided by elected leaders, their decision overridden by sold out politicians and their salaries held back. Workers see their income shrinking to 1994 levels while their debts rise with the cost of food and fuel. They see a president holding fundraisers where admission is $35,800 — more than the individual median income. Youth of America realize that their generation will be called Generation Screwed – leaving college with the highest debt burden ever and the worst job prospects in memory. Journalists who went to school with high ideals now see themselves in a corporate media machine that fails to report reality, sees the financial viability of corporate-funded journalism fading and sees the real future – a democratized media.
And, the American people are realizing the ruling elite rule poorly. They have destroyed representative democracy so that the people no longer count. They have led the economy over a cliff into economic collapse. And, they lead the military into unwinnable and unnecessary quagmires, costly in lives and treasure. When the views of super-majorities of Americans are examined it is evident that the people can lead better than the elites.
The fissures are widening quickly, the pillars are beginning to weaken so the power elite try to hide it, pretend it is not there – but it is and it is growing; and soon, they will not be able to escape it. Listen now to the non-violent protests across the country. Do not ignore us. Do not deny reality when Americans know better. Failure to listen now and respond will result in more aggressive demonstrations, perhaps violent riots, which will be counterproductive and much more costly to the nation and the lifestyles of the elites. But, they are inevitable if the elites to not radically change their behavior in response to an aroused citizenry.
Kevin Zeese is co-director of Its Our Economy and a core organizer of October2011.org.