Occupy Wall Street is 99% saying 'Yes, WE can'

RT

Published: 16 October, 2011, 13:04
If Obama were sincere about his electoral promises, he would be standing with the protesters. He is not – but that should not surprise us.
Never before had there been such international solidarity with the US as right after 9/11. President W. Bush and his team managed to completely miss a unique opportunity to make their country into a true beacon of peace and democracy. Instead, they wasted no time in turning it into the most feared military power in the world (again). His catastrophic rule led to the election of the first African-American as President of the United States. This was a truly historic event. The feelings of joy among African-Americans and all people of goodwill were perfectly understandable.
Yet the signs of coming disillusionment were there for all to see, right from the beginning. It was certainly a personal achievement for Barack Obama, a black American (who on top of that had ‘Hussein’ as a second name), to overcome racial prejudice, firstly, within the closed bipartisan political system and secondly, on Election Day. But that does not change the fact that he was and is a man of the system. That system remains the same today. It allows two corporate candidates, fully backed by the 1%, a go at the position of president.

‘Yes, we can’ and ‘Change we can believe in’ were the slogans that Obama’s campaign team developed for him. As was to be expected from professionals trained and skilled in the advertising business, they developed these empty slogans the same way they developed ads for toothpaste.
Today, the people of the US are giving meaning to these slogans, reminding us that the ‘we’ of Obama’s slogans means ‘we, the people,’ not ‘we, the 1%.’ To believe that everything starts with ‘good leadership’ – as the corporate elite like us to think – is a condescending denial of the courageous stand that millions of anonymous people have taken against injustice throughout the history of mankind. Most of them never made it into the history books. Yet they are the ones who made “the change.”
The OWS movement is a proud moment for the people of the US. The world admires and respects its American brothers and sisters again. Over the last decade, we have seen successful social revolts in Bolivia, Argentina and elsewhere. Recently there was the Arab Spring, which took place, and succeeded, against all the odds (odds far worse than in the US!).
Obama is the president of Wall Street. True change does not come from within the system. Systems, however, are weaker than most people think. Their main strength is the mass media-induced perception that it is unbeatable. It is not.
Is that revolution? I think there’s a better word for it, less spectacular but more to the point: OWS is democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom from want and so much more.
The thousands of protesters in New York City and around the world do not need our advice, but can use some inspiring examples:
This October 16, it is exactly 43 years since two American heroes – or should I say ‘African’ heroes? – no, make that ‘world’ heroes – defied the system.
On October 16, 1968, the African-American athletes Tommy Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists during the ceremony for their gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter race at the Mexico Olympic Games. They were not alone. Just like today, they were part of a nationwide movement for equal rights.
Their fight is far from over. Racism, discrimination and exploitation are still rampant. That is why the world needs Occupy Wall Street: millions of ordinary people raising their fists, in peace but with determination. Democracy at work.