The Occupy Movement Continues

The demonstrators represent hope for an entire nation.

One thing is certain: The Wall Street demonstrators in America have made history. In less than two months, they’ve managed to lift the leaden cover smothering central debate in the United States and, with that, have also swept dogmas overboard that had long been thought to be without alternatives.

The Occupy movement has raised questions that were long overdue. They had been suppressed by right-wing politicians and their wealthy backers. The demonstrators have put extreme social inequalities on display as well as revealing the influence big business has in creating them.

They want to end wars and rescue the environment, and they consider the rest of the world as equal partners in that effort.

It is the sum total of these points that makes this movement different from earlier social protests. This protest is about the big picture. It seeks a common root for various evils in the concentration of power on Wall Street and in big corporations.

The movement’s strength comes not from a minority, but from many layers of American society.

What the protesters have in common is that nearly all of them were born after the fall of the Berlin Wall — that they grew up during a period of neoliberal economic doctrine that spawned several wars. And finally, that they all believed in a presidential candidate who promised them change.

When that change didn’t come, the demonstrators decided to address the problems themselves. Using traditional non-violent protest tactics, imagination and wit, they went to those places that had previously been the exclusive domain of flag-waving, older middle-class whites. For that, they deserve our praise and gratitude.

The protesters don’t belong in police hands, nor should they be in handcuffs, and certainly not standing trial in a courtroom. They are the individuals upon whom the hope of the entire country rests.