Occupy Wall Street has been occupying the media’s attention for the past month, but what do a bunch of protestors camped out in a park in Manhattan have to do with people here in Brewster? Many people have been affected by the country’s economic problems, but what will the protests do to help?
So far, politicians and businesspeople have spent more time berating the protestors than listening to them, but that could change. Occupy Wall Street already has the media’s full attention; it is only a matter of time before it becomes too much of an embarrassment for Wall Street and Washington. It is entirely possible that national economic reforms, which would benefit everyone, could be passed just to make the protestors go away.
That is what happened in the 1960s: the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements were considered minor annoyances, but activists persisted and eventually became impossible to ignore.
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Second, the Occupy Wall Street protestors are saying what many Americans are thinking. In a recent Time poll, 54% of those surveyed viewed the movement favorably,79% agreed that the gap between rich and poor in the United States has grown too large, and 71% thought Wall Street executives were responsible for the 2008 economic crisis.
Since the infamous bailout of 2008-2009, many Americans have been angry at Wall Street, but not everyone can put on a Guy Fawkes mask and camp out in a New York City park. Speaking out against injustice is every republic citizen’s duty, but we all have responsibilities that keep us from continually applying pressure. Occupy Wall Street allows us to go on with our lives without letting the financial powers-that-be off the hook. At the very least, Occupy Wall Street is making life difficult for the people that drove the U.S. into recession and continue to amass fortunes while so many people remain jobless.
