Seriously... You Don't Know Why We're Here?

Occupy Dallas, as part of a global movement, stands in solidarity with those protesting at Wall St. in New York City. We, the people of Occupy Dallas, are here to maintain a constant presence until such time as the movement as a whole feels our presence is no longer required. We are here as a reminder to this city that while you may not always understand the injustices around you, they do exist.

        The United States of America, a once great experiment in a capitalist's democracy, is no longer evolving into something beautiful and free. It has become evil and self-destructive. Ninety-nine percent of our population is currently being stripped of their inalienable rights. As an American, you can no longer expect justice to be served where it is due. Legislation passed into law within the last decade has eroded American liberty—the right to exercise free will without fear of governmental coercion—at an alarming rate. Our children are graduating college into financial slavery during an economic crisis with anywhere from $40,000 to $120,000 dollars of debt.

        Our most honored tradition, the ability to democratically elect our leaders, has been taken from us. Multi-national Corporations spend millions of dollars each year bribing our elected officials. In exchange for this lobbyist blood money, politicians propose and back legislation written by Corporations intended to increase their profitability—usually at the expense of the taxpayers’ wellbeing and good faith.

        It was on January 21st, 2010 that the American political system was really sold out. The Supreme Court of the United States, presiding over a case known as Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission ruled that the First Amendment protects corporate funding of independent political broadcasts. Following this decision, SpeechNow.org was formed by a group of individuals seeking to pool their resources to make independent expenditures expressly advocating the election or defeat of federal candidates. They argued that because the SCOTUS had ruled First Amendment rights applied to Corporations through the Citizens United vs FEC ruling, the Federal Election Campaign Act, which had previously limited campaign donations and forced disclosure, was now in violation of their constitutional rights.

        SCOTUS agreed, Speechnow.org won and that is how democracy died. Suddenly, groups known as Super PACs began forming everywhere. They are authorized, by law, to accept donations of any size by any corporation or individual; and of course, they could do so without ever having to tell anyone where the money came from. This money can't be given directly to a politician or candidate, but can be used for essentially anything the group wants: TV and radio commercials live public campaign events and so on.

        Of course, if you're bright enough, eventually you should ask yourself, “If any Corporation or individual can donate an 5, 10, or even 50 million dollars to a political campaign and no one is required to reveal where the money came from... what stops a foreign country or even a criminal organization from buying an election?”

        Nothing—You all know where I'm going with this.

        Want someone to blame? Try Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy who authored the majority decision. Give him a call:             (202) 479-3211      . Ask him what he has against National Security.

        Point of interest: I'd also like to remind my readers that it is not the job of the people to write legislation. That is the duty of our elected officials. Expecting an assembled diverse mass of frustrated Americans to suddenly produce a 1000 page piece of legislation is ridiculous. What's more ridiculous is shoving a mic into someone's face that two weeks ago was a liberal arts major and expecting them to suddenly regurgitate a plethora of economic innovations or visionary legislative solutions to match their growing list of grievances.

        It isn't the protesters job to fix the problems. It's insulting to assume that just because someone cannot articulate specifically how they are being screwed, they aren't able to recognize that their pursuit of happiness is being derailed by crooked politicians and greedy corporate execs. It's the protesters job to make the public and the lawmakers aware of our grievances and then force them to address the issues. If you want someone to blame for the lack of clarity when it comes to solutions, call your representatives.

        Now, below is most of the official statement released from Occupy Wall St. It is a list of grievances. This statement was voted upon by the New York City General Assembly. Unanimously. Take note of the asterisk at the bottom. When you reach that point, if you still don't know what this movement is about, go watch wrestling.