When asked about their agenda’s uniqueness, Republican candidates seem to cheerfully deflect the question by lamenting Americans’ disenchantment with congress and current administration. Indeed, more than 50% of Americans are disappointed but not solely by Obama’s policies but over politicians’ performance in general. Reasons are several. One that quickly comes to mind was passionately and rightfully denounced in our streets by Americans of all ages, races and backgrounds: the rising income inequality; “the wealthiest one percent continue to increase their share while the 99 percent’s is shrinking.”
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center showed that contrary to what candidate Mitt Romney has stated, Americans did not launch a “class warfare or an envy-oriented attack” they are simply “fighting for our country’s historic promise of liberty and justice for all” (Mitt’s own words during a recent Statement made in homage to Martin Luther King.) Figures have shown that the 1% controls over 40% of financial wealth. That is a figure that would have probably motivated Reverend King to occupy Wall Street if still alive, especially knowing that nearly one in four blacks are extremely poor in the US.
Mitt Romney defends the rich and claims there is nothing wrong with being rich. I certainly do not disagree. But there is something wrong with 50.7 million uninsured Americans, 13 million children threatened by lack of food, and 49.1 million Americans living in poverty. All of this…while the rich 1% are getting richer.
So politicians may deplore the movement calling it an “Obama re-election team” (Bachman) or the “radical left” (Santorum) but they cannot negate the fact that until 2010, most Americans were disturbingly unaware about appallingly unequal wealth distribution and systemic poverty (Norton & Ariely 2010 study.) In fact, like it or not, the Occupy movement has shifted the public discourse in the US from debt and bank bailouts to social and economic inequality. And like other social movements, it is not perfect, but it has united many Americans who agreed on the ideal of economic democracy, one that does not allow small business bankruptcy, mass foreclosures, family homelessness, and poverty. The occupy movement may not be perfect but it’s working for a just America, “a more perfect union,” in which prosperity is collective not rigged for the privileged few.
References:
- NPR, The Income Gap: Unfair, Or Are We Just Jealous?
- US Census Bureau
- USCS.edu, Wealth, Income and Power by G. William Domhoff
I definitely agree that while this movement had its flaws, it certainly got Americans talking. The amount of people in cities all over the world from New York City to Boise definitely made a strong statement. The movement even spread overseas to Madrid, Seoul, and Athens. The sheer support for this movement and the ideals it stood for were heard by Washington. While some people tried to ignore them or shrugged them off as being extreme, there are degrees of unhappiness all over the country with our current social class pyramid. America is supposed to be a country where the middle class thrives, and this protest showed that Americans are angry and want to bring that American Dream back.
Great post! I completely agree that while the movement has had flaws, it has brought the majority of Americans together for a worthy cause. It reminds me of the time following 9/11. There was a sense of shared nationalism after 9/11, and I think the Occupy movement brought a sense of shared humanity. I do not like how some politicians polarize every issue. “A more perfect union” is definitely not a republican or democratic issue- it is an American issue. I believe that there should equity in basic human rights and needs such as food, water, and shelter.