Park Forest, IL—(ENEWSPF)—October 9, 2011. As someone who has participated in many marches supporting civil rights, women’s reproductive rights, and the end to the Viet Nam War, I’ve been fascinated with watching just how quickly the Occupy Wall Street movement has gained momentum over the past 3 weeks. I have witnessed first-hand the power people have when they take to the streets and let their political leaders know that they are “mad as hell and aren’t going to take it anymore.”
As is the case with millions of Americans, I lost more than 50% of my retirement account during this recession. Now that I’m disabled, I’m doing my best to try to make my monthly social security income stretch, but as my medical expenses keep increasing, it’s harder every month. Thankfully, I have some income which is more than those who are unemployed and find that their unemployment benefits have come to an end.
And while the middle class continues to erode before our eyes, what are our politicians focused on? The Republicans have made it quite clear since the last election that their primary goals are to:
- Ensure that President Obama is not re-elected, and
- Protect the agenda of the Wall Street bankers and big corporations that filled their campaign coffers.
While many in the media have criticized the Occupy Wall Street movement for not having a clear message, I think it’s quite clear. Wall Street’s actions wrecked the economy and not a single person has been indicted or convicted for their actions that destroyed 20% of the nation’s economy. Wall Street has control over the economic policies of the United States and this has to end.
Thousands of working families, nurses, teachers, members of the clergy and union members are expected to be part of the protests against Wall Street’s greed and corruption which led to the recession. Five separate marches are scheduled for Monday, October 10 in Chicago. You can Twitter your contempt for the status quo, or post outraged messages on your Facebook page, but history has clearly demonstrated that our politicians only get the message when they see the people on the streets demanding change.
If you’ve had enough, or just want to witness first-hand democracy in action, consider peacefully participating in one of the actions scheduled tomorrow. The current schedule of marches can be found in this article Thousands To March In Chicago Oct. 10 To Take Back Jobs, Homes, And Schools
Gary Kopycinski, editor and publisher of eNewsParkForest, will be reporting from Chicago tomorrow. But if you are at tomorrow’s actions and want to submit photos, video links or report on what you see at Monday’s events, please forward them to [email protected] for publication.
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