Tag: OWS

Viva Revolution!

frog3Leave a comment

The age of Revolution is a period of time that took place during the 1700 and 1800s. Some would say that we have entered our own modern period of revolution. Lets take a look back at some of the revolutions that occurred during 2011. A revolution that started during 2011 and ended during 2012, is the famed Egyptian revolution. It began with peaceful protests — Egyptians were just trying to make Egypt democratic. Millions of citizens went on strikes refusing work until better treated. Before we know it Egypt’s corrupt president, Hosni Mubarak ordered the army to fire on unarmed protestors. Due to ever-growing pressure from his own people and the U.N, Hosni Mubarak resigned on February 11th 2012.

Another revolution is the Libyan revolution that started on February 15th 2011.  As early as 2010 the U.N. was receiving reports that Libya was the most censored country in the Middle East. Ruled by Muammar Gaddafi, a cruel dictator who seized power in the 60s, Libya received much attention from the international community. With an uprising from guerilla forces and support from the U.N, the rebellion ended on October 23rd 2011. The last of  “rebellions” on our list (more like civil disobedience) is Occupy Wall Street. It began in New York, people protesting   corporate greed and unfair taxation. The movements slogan “ We are the 99%” became a battle cry for many, for others it was a threat to their wealth. OWS soon spread around the nation with protest held in California, Louisiana, Alabama and many others. It did not only stop at a nationwide level it soon spread to London, Berlin, Sydney and many countries in Africa. The protests were splintered however and by fall of 2011 they were being shit down. Pepper Spray, riot shields, and flash bangs soon became commonplace. By December of 2011 the movement was effectively dead. History repeats itself; we may have entered a new age of revolution or just an insignificant period in human history. Whatever it is, whenever people are treated unfairly they will rebel.

Occupy Wall Street 2.0

therightliberal1 Comment

I last wrote about the subject of Occupy Wall Street when  it was a relatively small protest in New York.

And then bang!

The protests started spreading throughout the country, with people even protesting overseas. It has turned in to quite the movement, with the media giving the protests quite the coverage (despite my complaints about their reasons).

But I still have some concerns. I agree that the top 1% needs to stop hiding and start being more responsible. That small population controls such a large percentage of the money in the country that they can control most of the goings on. And with things going so poorly with the economy, they need to stand up and explain why and give some solutions.

But the protesters have not been clear on what they are looking for. The go around marching with 1% signs but they have no specific demands.

There may be a good reason for this: they don’t (and most Americans don’t) know what the answers are, only that we are in trouble.

It is quite obvious that the general public is upset at the state of our economy. We need change. But what change do we need?

Here is what the protesters should be demanding:

Higher taxes on the wealthy. They are wealthy which means they have excess money. Why not tax them and help the country? Obviously giving the rich tax breaks have not worked because look where we are now.

Education. Our education system is quickly system towards the middle of the pack, and that’s a big problem. If we want to have a wealthy country that leads the world in most areas, we need to have the most and best educated young people. Let’s cut spending from other programs if we need to (defense spending) and use it wisely; on education.

Inaction. What has been done by the wealthy to help? To be honest I do not think it is the individual’s job to voluntarily help but the job of the government to enforce their help. Politicians in Washington have been so busy bickering over every small issue that they have forgotten that we need progress now.

I support Occupy Wall Street and I think that the people out there are doing a good job of showing the people’s frustration with the government.

That being said, I highly suggest they focus their protests and start suggesting solutions. By doing that, they could really make a huge step and make some large changes in our country.