After some arguments I've had the last few days, this really needs to be said:
I am both amazed and exasperated by the people who discount the Occupy movement because it didn't spring full-formed from Athena's forehead. History doesn't work that way. Revolutions don't work that way. The first American Revolution took almost a decade to achieve the form we regard it with today, and even then it failed in many of its originally intended goals.
The Constitution we consider to be the bedrock of our nation was first begun in 1787 - over a decade after the Declaration of Independence (which itself took months to draft) was released, and three years after the fighting with England ended. That Constitution was ratified over a year later, and amended with the original Bill of Rights in 1791.
If you want vague, try reading the Declaration of Independence. It doesn't lay out a plan for change, create a workable government, or do much of anything except lay out a point-by-point list of general grievances that boil down to "Fuck you, King George." It certainly wasn't accepted as gospel by the majority of colonial citizens, many of whom put up exactly the same arguments against that rebellion that American conservatives put up against Occupy now.
We talk now about the Founders as if they were a bunch of saints all gathered together in the same room who crafted " a more perfect union" within a few hours, then went out to kick British butt with nothing more than blue tricorns and Minutemen. In reality, the various American Revolutions (the original Colonial insurrection, the War Between the States, and the Civil Rights/ Vietnam/ culture war battles of 1960-1990) have all involved long, messy, disorganized and contentious shifts. In all cases, there was intervention from other nations, too; we would have lost the war of 1776 before it even began had we not been supported by France, Spain, and various Native American groups, all of whom were later screwed by the United States in return. Various other nations played roles in the so-called Civil War, while the Civil Rights revolt occurred (and is still occurring) all over the world. This revolution is worldwide, too, and while we can hope it never escalates to the shooting-war stage, that decision depends on how we handle things when we have the chance to avoid that outcome.
My point is, change looks clean only in hindsight. And regardless of how you feel about OWS, we ARE in a period of change. It would be helpful, then, to understand our history, realize that future generations will remember us someday, and act accordingly.
As I posted on my Facebook wall yesterday, it's especially galling when folks identify their personal grievances with the current situation by using the name of a mob of vandals who protested the collusion between the English Crown and the British East India Company by inflicting millions of dollars in damage upon its stock... and then turn around today and attack the Occupy movement for being anti-corporate malcontents! The level of historical ignorance surrounding the Tea Party is enough to make me want go all Moses on certain people, force-feeding texts of actual HISTORICAL FACTS to them until they get the point. [1]
My point here is this: The facts are out there, the Occupy movement DOES have a sort of Declaration of Independence, and Rome is neither built, destroyed or turned around in a day.
Real life is messy, and glib responses just make a bigger mess.
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1. In Exodus 32:19-20, Moses reacts to Israelites worshiping the Golden Calf by smashing the original 10 Commandments, destroying the Calf, mixing water into the resulting mess, and then forcing the children of Israel to drink the results. Compared to THAT, a bunch of people yelling in the streets looks downright peaceful.