Occupy Wall Street Will Transform America

Since Sept. 17, America’s Occupy Wall Street protest movement, which has young people at its center, has been spreading like wildfire. Now, it has spread to nearly every major American city, becoming a public movement with great momentum and far-reaching influence, taking over city centers and important places. This kind of movement has rarely been seen in U.S. history. The fact that the scale of it is so massive shows that “99 percent” of the country’s population has already moved on from the Occupy Wall Street protest of greed to Occupy Washington, calling for political reform. Does this signify that the U.S. has followed in the Arab Spring’s footsteps to its own “American Spring”?

Opposing greed and corruption in Wall Street finance

Since Sept. 17, New York’s unemployed youth, college graduates who can’t find work, poor city residents and citizens who are dissatisfied with Wall Street and with society have spontaneously gathered to demonstrate under the banner of “Occupy Wall Street,” brandishing signs reading, “The world should be ruled by the people,” “We are the 99%” and “Oppose the 1% who hold the country’s riches and power.”* They are protesting the greed and corruption of Wall Street’s financial big shots and bigwigs and protesting the government’s rescue of avaricious Wall Street instead of the unemployed young people and the poor. New York police arrested many protesters for blocking traffic and disturbing public order; as of now, over 1,000 protesters have been taken in. Despite this, demonstrators are still participating enthusiastically and continue to grow in number. As the saying goes, “No prairie fire can destroy the grass; it shoots up again when the spring breeze blows.” The protesters spontaneously organized themselves, pitching up a stronghold camp in a park next to Wall Street, intending to stay for a long time. Now a “headquarters” base camp has been set up with a temporary hospital and an Occupied Wall Street Journal. In addition, they have already prepared winter supplies and food. The Occupy Wall Street movement is centered on the idea of opposing Wall Street’s greed and corruption, opposing the government’s large-scale assistance to the banks, opposing big industry’s abuse of money to influence politics and opposing Washington’s politicians who have been working to serve the country’s wealthy 1 percent while neglecting the 99 percent, who are making strong demands for their employment and livelihoods through the “99 percent movement.”

Occupy Wall Street has now gone from being a spontaneous, unorganized protest movement without political objectives or a plan of action to gaining participation and support from labor unions, community organizations, well-known scholars and Hollywood stars, becoming a national grassroots popular movement — that is to say, the 99 percent movement. Occupy Wall Street has rapidly spread to over 50 big cities across America and to over 1,000 small to medium-sized cities. In addition, it has also developed into Occupy Washington, directed at the top of Washington’s command: the White House. What has drawn the world’s attention even more, however, is that Occupy Wall Street’s 99 percent occupation movement has already extended across most of America. Moreover, this non-violent mass street movement is even fiercer than the one aimed at Wall Street in 2008 when the financial crisis first began; it has engulfed the world at lightning speed. In just one short month, America’s Occupy Wall Street reached Europe with Occupy London in the UK, and Oceana with Occupy Sydney in Australia. It is blooming all around the world and turning the 99 percent movement into a large-scale trend in Western countries. What merits special attention is the fact that this movement used websites like Twitter and Facebook to spread information, communicate, organize and advance its current formation into a large-scale, mass, globally influential, epochal 99 percent occupation movement. The political slogans of, “We are the 99 percent,” “The world belongs to the 99 percent” and “The world should be ruled by the people” can now be heard around the world. From the Atlantic coasts in the U.S. and Europe to the southern Pacific nations of Australia and New Zealand, people are communicating and organizing to launch Oct. 15’s global occupation movement. Does this signify that the “American Spring” has been followed by the coming of a “Western Spring”?

A revolution to reform American society

In the beginning, when a few young people made Occupy Wall Street signs and held a demonstration, it was not looked upon favorably at all. Nor did it attract media attention; only the police were on guard. When the appeals of this protest grew clearer — opposing the wealthy and influential 1 percent and fighting for the interests of the 99 percent — it aroused the growing support of those who had lost their jobs due to New York’s financial, economic and debt crises, unemployed youth, the poor and those who had been hurt in the middle and lower classes; all of them joined the ranks of the protesters with increasing enthusiasm. With this, the demonstration quickly became a popular grassroots protest movement that drew attention from the people and the media. Although once lacking organization, goals and guiding principles, the movement quickly formed a preliminary organization, with goals and guiding principle of the 99 percent movement, and it was not long before it spread across the U.S. Now it has already expanded to become Occupy Chicago, Occupy Los Angeles, Occupy San Francisco, Occupy Boston, Occupy Denver, Occupy Washington and so on, reaching over 50 major cities and 1,000 small to medium-sized cities, forming a national wave of occupation as part of the 99 percent movement. Clearly, the climax of this wave is yet to come. It is a massive, intense and rapid national popular movement, a non-violent social and political movement, the likes of which has rarely been seen in U.S. history. Demanding change in America’s current situation and reform of America’s government and society, this great transformation is an unprecedented revolution.

America’s financial big shots, big industry bosses, politicians from both parties, Obama’s administration and the wealthy and influential 1 percent of Americans have yet to gain a profound understanding of the political, social, revolutionary and epochal significance of this great movement, transformation and revolution. Wall Street financial tycoons, military industrial tycoons and big industry executives are still ignoring this movement. In their opinion, they could not be overthrown by the financial, economic and debt crises, so how could this mere popular movement do the same? Despite the wind and waves, they still sit tight in their fishing boat; not only do they go unscathed, but they will again profit from their catch. But given the comprehensiveness and depth of America’s national and global 99 percent movement, it can be forecast that America’s wealthy are sure to fall into a serious political and economic crisis. Although they can probably continue to uphold the status of the wealthy thanks to the protection of the fundamentally hard-to-change capitalist system, they absolutely cannot do as they please, embezzling the wealth of the country and the people, brazenly using their money to interfere in politics and government policy!

It is still difficult for the 99 percent movement to change the American political system

America’s Democratic and Republican parties already do not dare hold the 99 percent movement in contempt. Obama and the Democratic Party consider themselves to represent the interests of the middle and lower classes and they believe this movement will benefit them in next year’s presidential elections. Ever since Obama became a Democratic member of Congress, he has continually expressed his affirmation of and support for these groups, but will this movement’s development truly benefit Democratic Obama in next year’s election? As of now, it is hard to say. This 99 percent movement is not only aimed at the wealthy 1 percent, but also at the political elite. Not only is it aimed at Wall Street’s big industries, but also at the White House and Obama’s administration. The 99 percent movement has already clearly stated its demands for economic and political reform, a more fair society, and employment and assistance for the poor. It has also asserted its opposition to assistance for the wealthy, to war, to involvement in international conflicts and other such appeals directed against Obama’s administration.

Amidst America’s current political environment, which is rife with competition and fighting between the two political parties, it can be said that Obama’s administration is at its wit’s end trying to find a solution to the difficulties of recession, debt, high unemployment and the need for assistance to the poor and homeless. Thus, his political measures, of which the results cannot immediately be seen, have won the support of the 99 percent. Yet his political future is still difficult. As for the Republican Party, which represents the interests of the wealthy, they naturally have a conflict of interest with the 99 percent movement, which is directed against the 1 percent. As such, they, in their loathing, have cursed the movement, calling those who participate in the protests thugs and using all of their power to slander the movement as much as possible. Obviously, such a nationwide 99 percent movement poses a great threat to the Republican Party. It is imperative that the Republican Party adjust its strategy toward the 99 percent or else it will meet its end amidst the storm of the movement in next year’s general election.

Ultimately, America’s 99 percent movement will probably not be able to fundamentally change America’s political, economic, or social systems, but there is one thing that is certain: It will be a reform movement even more powerful in promoting progress in American society than the Populist movement of the early 20th century. The 99 percent movement is, itself, a main force in the 21st century progressive reform movement in American society, which represents the hope for progress in America.

As for the spread and development of the 99 percent movement in the Western world, the end result will surely be that it follows in the footsteps of America’s 99 percent movement, pushing for progress and reform in 21st century Western societies. This is merely the beginning of the 99 percent movement in the Western world. Only by achieving reform of social progress will society not lag behind the developments of the new century, thereby remedying, or slowing decline and welcoming new progress and development. New progress in Western society is a necessity of human society’s new development and is an important component in human society’s progress. Thus, the whole world and all humanity should welcome the 99 percent movement in America and in the West.