It is a Crazy, Freaky World We Live In.

As written about in The Fourth Turning Anglo society goes through a crisis mode every 80 years. The authors of that work trace it back to the end of The War of the Roses. According to their research, we were due for such a crisis in 2010. Having reviewed their math, I placed that date closer to 1999/2001. The reasoning is covered in Wealth, Women and War, and in Conspirators, Confederates and Cronies. When taking into account all the heightened political awareness in the US today, the adjusted date seems to hold weight.

Within that social conflagration I found a home with the Occupy movement. If you have read any of my work, you may find that odd. It really isn’t. Before the action is the time to think, ponder, speculate, debate, and consider alternatives. Once the movement starts it is time to make a decision on where one stands. For better or worse, I’ll stand with Occupy Chicago!

About the Police

I am well aware that the police response to the occupy movement has been heavy handed across the United States. I am also aware that the focus of many Occupy camps has become police brutality. This is a shift in focus from the misconduct of the 1%ers, to the misconduct of the various police departments.

Question: What are you going to do about them and with them when you win the day and the ideas of Occupy do become mainstreamed? Are we not thinking that far in the future? One way or the other there will be a hell of a conflagration between now and then; The Powers That Be are building to a climatic confrontation. This past week China’s military has made noise about certain influences within its own government. And there is plenty of noise out of DC about Iran. That is part of the reason we are protesting NATO just shy of a month from today. So what are you going to do when we win in roughly seven years? And we are going to win. It is not bombastic bragging to say that the voice, needs, morals of the 99% will be the voice of the nation in a fairly short time.

Direct Action

Direct action for the sake of direct action is not an abortion. The Tet Offensive in 1968 was a military disaster for Charlie, but blew the lid off the politics in the USA. Ultimately it led to the sovereign unification of Vietnam. Often such Direct Action for the sake of Direct Action is nothing more than a tangible, material message that the opposition (in this case Occupy) still exist.

Occupy is also too aware that Direct Action might offend the masses. Got news for Occupy, you can't offend 'em, 'casue they don't care, they are oblivious, or opposed to any better world which will force them to learn a new social contract (a way of living in society in regards to how they interact with others).

Right now, in spite of the Occupy message, the social contract still reads "every man for himself." Based on the polls I have read 40+% (it might be more but I am being conservative there) of the population of the US now agree that economic disparity is an issue in the USA. Yet, while agreeing with this as an issue, nothing has changed. The conflagration, or palpable threat mentioned above, will change that. 

Too much of what has happened in the last seven months (a damn short time I will add) looks like rebellion and not revolution. A Rebellion is where a large group of people tell the people in charge to fix their mess. A Revolution is where a group of people decided to fix it themselves, and as it becomes necessary, kick the ruling class clean out of the country... if not more. I'll let you ponder what that "more" is.

If I were to pick a direction in the short run, based on what I have seen thus far, I’ll take the Rebellion over the Revolution. Rebellion is a quick, well deserved, kick in the ass to get things back on track. Revolution is long, bloody and damn wasteful.  Rebellion can change the course of a nation in a decade.

May Day and NATO

I would, by the way, think way past May. May is in the can. Whatever is going to happen, will happen.

I laugh at myself here. Do I tell my boss that I want the day off, or do I call in sick? Either way I lose a day's pay, and am impoverished until the next month. I know that is a personal issue, but I do wonder if people in Occupy get it. I'd give you real numbers to chew on, but $10.00 every time I go out to a GA or DA or Rally is steep for me. Doesn’t sound like much but $10.00 is a week’s worth of bologna and fruit for my lunches… and often dinner. I am not sure if I am going to cover May Day on the street.

Election Cycle

The elections are coming. That is every four years. How about someone writing a nonpartisan, non-inflammatory broadside comparing the Bush years to the Obama years, and paper the city with that? Occupy Chicago Tribune proves that Occupy Chicago can put out a limited run Newspaper—at the consternation of the Chicago Tribune®. And that is awesome, but it is not getting into the hands of the people.

As to 99% Spring ... anyone see anything really going on with that, or it is just another MoveOn publicity stunt? If MoveOn has gotten out from behind their computers, and massive email list, to teach full contact street politics, who has co-opted who? (Or Should that be whom?) It seems to me that Occupy has taught them a thing or two. 

Winning

"We ultimately win when the majority of America/the world agree with Occupy." Kudos to whoever said this, but many people do agree, and are listening, and admit to the disparity that earmarks the last 30 years of life in the USA, but are doing damn little to alter the social contract. We need to address this.

Side Note: I was reviewing the statistics for the blog from last week. I had more readers from Russia, than from the USA.