On Nov. 5, 2011, my wife Barbara and I went to an Occupy Orlando meeting. I wanted to see what it was all about and get a feel for the true pulse of the situation. Were these just a bunch of ragtag troublemakers or were they serious folks bent on constructive solutions to the very difficult problems facing our nation? Click here for my photo gallery of the event.
Although dominated mostly by young adults, there was a fair presence of older folks like Barb and me. Men, women, children, and a wide ethnic diversity showed the gathering to be truly representative of America’s overall population. Not a bad beginning.
True, the anarchists were there with their masked faces but they behaved themselves. Tea Party activists attended as well, one with a very aggressively provocative sign–counter demonstrators. I thought sure there would be some conflict with the more progressive elements of the crowd. Not so. A friend I ran into said that some reasonable discussions had occurred between individuals in both groups.
Hmm. The anarchists behaving themselves and reasonable give-and-takes between Tea Party folk and Progressives? What a concept. Very interesting.
Then the speeches started, delivered by young people. Those “kids” were great. All they did was to calmly call for a reversal of the very obvious and increasing centralization of money, power and influence in the United States. Very simple and very valid.
Much to my surprise, when the group started marching towards City Hall, Barb and I decided to join the procession.
The march was very orderly but very dedicated to making changes in how we operate in this country. Very nicely done and a part of a vast, nationwide movement very much inline with others like it in the past. That occupy event was representative of the United States at its best–people coming together to protest the wrong and call for fairness. Let it remain that way.
Young people are the tip of the spear in this process and my hat is off to them. I believe that they can help show us all how much we have in common rather than how much divides us as a nation. The Occupy Movement, if it maintains its self discipline and becomes strengthened over time, could well be seen in future history books as one of the most important and pivotal influences to change our national direction. We shall see, won’t we?
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