Occupy Wall Street and America’s Youth
For anyone paying attention over the last couple of weeks, you have probably read about the Occupy Wall Street protests which, while starting in New York on Wall Street, have spread to most other major cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta. The protests are gaining significant attention in the press and it doesn’t look like they are going to be stopping anytime soon.
Watching these events unfold, I am struck by a number of things. First, though we may be disgusted at the way some of our peers are acting (including sleeping on the street in their own filth, looting, stealing, and misdemeanors), the rights to petition our government and to gather peaceably are two of our most basic, fundamental rights granted to us by the Constitution and our founding fathers. Now, of course, if people are breaking the law, and some of the protesters are, they should face the consequences of their actions.
Secondly, while it is clear that presenting our grievances to our government is a fundamental political right, the rhetoric from these events is moving swiftly away from individuals who wish to voice their concerns towards a kind of mob/groupthink/cultic mentality intermingled with violent socialism. There have been reports out of Atlanta and New York about strange, cultic chants arising, the one in New York apparently centering around having sex with animals.[1]
And while cultic activity is not to be taken lightly, violent rhetoric must always be taken seriously. Take, for instance, this quote from Occupy L.A.: “One of the speakers said the solution is nonviolent movement. No, my friend…ultimately, the bourgeoisie won’t go without violent means. Revolution! Yes, revolution that is led by the working class. Long live revolution! Long live socialism!”[2] We are accustomed to hearing socialist propaganda in our classrooms; after all, many of our teachers became indoctrinated by it in the 60’s and have continued to propagate that mindset.
What many of us are not familiar with is the violence associated with true Marxist Socialism. The socialism that brought about the French Revolution was checked on all sides by the emerging power of democracy, freedom and liberty. We need to look farther east, to Russian Stalinism and Chinese Maoism, to understand the true force of the violence unleashed by radical socialism when left unchecked.
We must remember that it was a list of “quick fixes,” “negligent government,” and plain bad policy that has created this situation and other problems. Legislators around the country, and especially when they find themselves insulated in Washington, think that if they are not working on a bill of some sort, they are not serving their people. However, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. It is readily apparent that little thought goes into the immediate implications that a given bill will have on current laws nor how a certain bill will effect citizens and businesses down the road. These movements and protests don’t happen all of the sudden when things have gone wrong. They grow over time as the mistakes of negligent and oppressive government are exposed.
This movement has grown out of a frustration with our current government, and in many ways is understandable. Our government is suffering an unusually high amount of dysfunction, even for Washington. But whether my peers in these protests understand the implications of what they are saying or are confused, we must categorically reject their principles. Socialism has never brought more freedom to a generation that it indoctrinates, only less. Never more liberty, only less. Never less fear, always more. Never prosperity, only poverty, despair and hopelessness.
My friends, the time has come for our generation to cry out in one voice, “We want to be that shining city on a hill!”, that the world looks to as a beacon of freedom, prosperity and hope. The only way we can reclaim that status is by returning to the principles that made our country great: individual freedom, personal responsibility, and moral intergrity.
[1] http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2011/10/yuck-occupy-wall-street-zombies-lastest-chant-you-can-have-sex-with-animals-video/ (video included)
Here it the first video
[2] http://pajamasmedia.com/tatler/2011/10/11/occupy-l-a-speaker-violence-will-be-necessary-to-achieve-our-goals/ (video included)
Here is the video from the 2nd link.
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It’s Time for Others to Step Up
First, let me say that I really appreciate the spirit of optimism and positive solutions you’re trying to foster here. It’s something that the Tea Party absolutely must have if we’re going to restore the republic.
That being said, I have to disagree with your post on one point. I do not believe that, “This movement [OWS] has grown out of a frustration with our current government, and in many ways is understandable.” The Tea Party, it seems to me, is a movement that sprang up because it frustrated with our current government. OWS, on the other hand, strikes me as a movement that has sprung up out of frustration with capitalism itself…or perhaps simply out of frustration that the majority of Americans aren’t willingly trading in their Republic for a socialist dictatorship.
“the rights to petition our government and to gather peaceably are two of our most basic, fundamental rights granted to us by the Constitution and our founding fathers. Now, of course, if people are breaking the law, and some of the protesters are, they should face the consequences of their actions.”
I always marvel at a mind that can assert this in a single sentence.