An American Occupation Proclamation

The social climate in America is in the midst of a profound and dramatic shift. Our nation, conceived in rebellion, reared by noble aspirations and fed on unlimited progress, has lost its way.

For the past two generations, we have been willingly bled dry of our essential ideals in exchange for a temporary illusion of security.

Where we once had an educational system that was the envy of the world, we now have a less educated populace than many other advanced nations.

At one time, America’s middle class looked to the future with confidence that any obstacle would be overcome by the sheer force of our determination; today, that will has vanished, leaving behind nearly seventy million who cannot sustain themselves, no matter how much sweat and blood they are willing to sacrifice.

The largest impoverished group in the United States consists of children, where one out of every five live with the pain of constant hunger.

Infrastructure, the literal bedrock of our country, erodes beneath our feet like the skin of a wet corpse.

Despite the never-ending promises of change from our political class, the People have been sold out to the corporate-sponsored status quo of constant decline.

But the mighty winds are beginning to shift…

The roots of an alternate paradigm took hold in New York City not so long ago, at the symbolic epicenter of our corrosion.

Wall Street, a crooked casino ruled by the self-professed ‘Masters of the Universe’, has come under Occupation by the 99%. These are every-day Americans from all walks of life who recognize that our health is in critical condition and they are no longer willing to stay silent as we inch lower into history’s burial chamber.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has rediscovered the People’s Voice. It has shown, by simply existing, that the citizens themselves are the ultimate masters of America’s destiny - that we have an inherent power to chart a brave new course for the tired and poor to navigate. A subtle breeze that began in Lower Manhattan now cascades in all directions with the force of a Cat 5 hurricane.

In the pursuit of truth, a slippery and evasive concept unlike the malleable facts that guard it, which, like cold statistics, or a fuzzy Rorschach, will only reveal what you want to see, I intend to discover exactly what raw nerve this movement has touched.

Why has the public chosen this magical time and place to rise up in solidarity with those in Liberty Plaza?

Instead of relying on the distortions of faux news pundits, I am going to relay the honest story of an American Occupation, directly from the huddled masses who have given it life.

Today is just the first step on an infinite journey. Tomorrow there will be another and as the days turn into weeks, you will come to understand completely what the 99% are struggling to achieve.

A storm can be heard thundering from beyond the lecherous green horizon. With it comes a rain of unity unlike anything we’ve previously imagined. Every drop has a tale that deserves to be told. Some will wrench the heart and many will flood the eyes, but all of these stories will convey the deepest hope that the actions being taken right now, here in America and on every one of Earth’s continents, will guide humanity away from the perpetual edge, in a direction that leads towards a prosperous destiny for us all.

Right now is an exciting time to be alive. You and I have been offered a front row seat to witness what Democracy was meant to look like.

I suggest you buy a ticket, come along on this wild ride and let your fearless deeds be an inspiration to future generations. 

>Patrick M. Arthur>

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>image> Darwin Yamamoto - getdarwin>