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Why Occupy Wall Street?

There’s a tremendous buzz among friends, associates, blogs and TV news media these days about what the Occupy Wall Street protesters want.

Mitt Romney has called it “dangerous…class warfare.”  Herman Cain of Godfather Pizza fame said, “Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks; if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself!  It is not a person's fault if they succeeded, it is a person's fault if they failed."  And later, "To protest Wall Street and the bankers is basically saying you’re anti-capitalism.”  CNN’s Ali Velshi this morning conducted an interview with four opinionators, all speculating about what these people want.  It seems there are many who would like to discover what flavor of treats the New York City protesters like so they can throw them the right one, sweep these people off the street and get back to business as usual.  Meanwhile there are similar demonstrations taking place in other cities, including Seattle.  So far there have been few instances of their protests being hijacked by crazies and anarchists.  Stay tuned.

Why is their plea so difficult to understand?  What they want has been ably enunciated by the NYC General Assembly, the nearest thing to an organization of the protesters themselves in their Declaration of the Occupation of New York City.   The document may have some problems, such as the reference to direct democracy (we don’t have that here; we have representative democracy), and its asterisk appended to the end of a long list of grievances, giving it near infinite possibilities.  But the document itself reads a bit like the Declaration of Independence and the movement resembles the great act of rebellion of American colonists against a tyrannical ruler three years earlier.

Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon, speaking on the floor of the House to those still mystified by the protest, ably condensed the NYCGA’s Declaration by pointing out once again that Americans have witnessed reckless Wall Street gambling, massive deregulation that permits it, higher corporate profits, higher CEO compensation and giant bonuses often even in the absence of profits while millions of capable citizens are unable to find a job.  They've seen mortgages being foreclosed on honest, hardworking families.  They've seen bailouts of the wealthiest Americans, but nothing for the small businesses that create jobs. They've found a stacked deck blocking their access to the American dream.

This movement is very much in concert with the Main Street sustainability movement if they're not one and the same. Wide-spread disillusionment, even despair, with the state and future of our economy is driving Americans of all stripes back to the values we once practiced with ease in doing business with our neighbors and nearby farmers vs. lining the pockets of executive shareholders who live far away and care not a whit about your neighborhood and mine.  But many of our politicians, those who could make a difference, seem in their endless election campaign madness insensitive to those being squeezed by forces far greater than themselves.

Donna Brazile gets it.  Bainbridge Island author David Korten gets it.  Many others among both the suit-and-tie set and the younger, not-yet-finished crowd also get it.

This is not a Republican or Libertarian or Democratic Party issue.  All Americans want access to the opportunities that once were every American’s birthright.  They want an even playing field.  Many of them, including the author of this blog, believe it has become anything but even.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Let justice roll down...

I've just returned from a ceremony I'd never have expected until very recently to witness firsthand and that I don't expect I'll ever witness again, the swearing in of a Washington State Supreme Court Justice, in this case my friend and fellow Bainbridge Islander Charlie Wiggins, pictured here.

Must I from now on address him as Justice Wiggins?  I doubt it.  Charlie is a humble and approachable man of the highest integrity.  The theme of his career is expressed in the book of Amos:  "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."

This was a gratifying experience because what I heard were the voices of real people with real lives, real families and genuine passions -- people who have achieved some great things and who are now at the pinnacle of their careers in an important and respected profession.  I came away feeling that our courts are to a very high degree in good hands, that they're vital to the protection of our liberty and our cherished unalienable rights as Americans and members of the human race.

Is justice delivered perfectly?  Not always, and I feel certain the Judges and Justices I met today in Olympia would acknowledge that as fact.  Charlie today eloquently affirmed his desire as an attorney and now as a Supreme Court Justice to bring to his work the effort he's made throughout his career to restore balance to relationships that have gotten out of sync.  I couldn't be more proud to call him my friend.  All of Kitsap County and of the State of Washington can likewise be proud of their decision to invest him with this responsibility.

John Hays