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The Occupy movement is a rope.
Sometimes it can threaten to fray into a maze of causes as varied as people are: war, a pipeline, a city park, clean air. Sometimes it can threaten to string somebody up--an image its enemies might like as a tool, a trip-rope, to discredit the movement. Sometimes it is disregarded, left to lie outdoors where it can rot under winter rains and not bother anybody.
But at its best it is a rope that people who value democracy can hang onto and stick together with; and it is something we can raise a flag with: an American flag that doesn't stand for war and greed and nationalism, but actually stands for democracy and liberty and decent treatment of people.
The cause that unites us is the cause of democracy, and in our time democracy is most threatened by the extreme inequities in wealth that produce inequities in education, job and investment opportunities, and political influence. Money buys advertisers, whole programs, and whole media conglomerates that twist truth and substitute trivia for important issues and clear thinking. We won't get that money out of politics. There are too many ways to circumvent Russ-Feingold or any such attempt at political equality. But we can reduce the gross inequities in our economy, and thus come closer to a democracy of people rather than dollars.
There are many ideas about how to increase the quality of our democratic opportunities--steeper progressive taxes, particularly on investment income; reduction in corporate taxes but increased personal taxes so that investors pay at their individual rates; or, my personal favorite, restricting lowest pay in a corporation or its contractors to at least 10% of the highest remuneration in the corporation.
These are the causes that our champions of democracy should be fighting for with every legislative breath. Where are the elected representatives of citizens rather than dollars? Where are, for that matter, the CEO's with a vision and voice for both their corporation and their country? (Thank you, Mr. Buffet!) Why are they not articulating the policies that can restore our democracy?
I understand. A rope is a dangerous thing. If you trust to it and it breaks, the fall can hurt badly. It's safer to pursue money than democracy.
But it's not better. This rope can raise a flag and make us proud to be part of what that flag means. Our democracy is worth it.
