At a time where change is
needed now more than ever, it appears that change is happening from
the bottom and working its way up.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>At a time where change is needed now more than ever, it appears that change is happening from the bottom and working its way up.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>For nearly a month now there has been a protest in lower Manhattan over the broken financial system of this country. The protest is against big business, corporate America, Wall Street, and the one percent of the population that owns nearly 85 percent of the population’s wealth.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>The Occupy Wall Street movement states simply, “No longer will banks take our homes. No longer will banks rob students of our future. No longer will banks destroy the environment. No longer will banks fund the misery of war. No longer will banks cause massive unemployment. And no longer will banks create and profit from economic crisis without a struggle.”
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>As a strong advocate for human rights and democracy, the protest does nothing more than put a smile on my face and a tear in my eye.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>As an American, I am proud to see democracy at its finest. And to see my fellow Americans join into an international struggle that has been going on for decades is simply breath taking.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>Regular people who are trying to feed their families, pay their mortgages, and simply survive lead this movement.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>Countries and cities all over the world have joined the struggle. There have been protests in New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., London, France, Egypt, Jordan, Rome, Yemen, Tunisia, Seoul, Algeria, Spain, and even Greensboro.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>On Monday I had the great honor to have a good old fashion sit-in with a woman on the sidewalk in front of the Civil Rights Museum.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>As I sat on the sidewalk with this woman who felt a change needed to come, it was clear that a profound change is coming to our planet in the near future. A change of the world as we know it is happening as we speak.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>However, this change will only come to those who choose to love and not fear, fight and not run, speak up oppose to remain silent, and stand up for beliefs oppose to sit back and do nothing.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>Everyday Americans are protesting against a system that gives big banks tax breaks, yet denies black people reparations.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>Ordinary citizens are protesting against a government that instead of making things more equal they build prisons for poor people and send people to jail for life for weed charges.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>Swarms of people are fighting against a mindset that has forced many colleges to raise tuition, yet our country continues to build on the most powerful military in the world.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>The revolution that many Americans have been dreaming of for years is happening before our very eyes.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>As we pick up the paper, or turn on the news, the struggles we are facing can no longer be ignored. However, the question that many protestors cannot answer for the life of them is what direction will we head in now. It is clear a change is going to occur, but what will that change be?
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>A strong sign of discontent and dissatisfaction has been made very aware to the powers that be.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>The Occupy Wall Street Movement is making it clear that the change that will occur is a people standing up for the rights that this country is based on. No true democracy can be attained when the process is determined by an economic power. When capital is valued over human beings, then the system we currently live in has got to be changed.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>And with that being said, you see people all around the world marching and peacefully protesting in public spaces. There are many politicians that call this movement radical, but I call it a revolution. If we plan to be apart of this change we need to stand up for what we true believe in as American people.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>The fight has already begun and we, as human beings, need to become angry and join the fight. Not becoming angry and picking up a weapon, but angry and, as Tupac Shakur put it, “open our minds.”
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>The Occupy Movement is only the beginning. However if a better tomorrow is going to be sparked, it must grow with everyday Americans much like the students that occupy this campus.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>Young college students, black and white, helped changed the mindset of the country during the Civil Rights Movements.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>Organizations like SNCC, the Black Panther Party, SCLC, etc. all were student organizations that helped change the country we live in today.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>Today, the struggles are more economic than racial. We have the power to change the world we live in. We helped put a black man into the White House, and now we have the power to help change the way that same White House handles its policies.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>If we plan to have a better world for the generations that will follow us, we must first help to build a better tomorrow for which they can truly benefit from.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>How do we do that? We speak to our government officials. We protest for what we believe in. We stand up against oppression overseas and show that our struggle is their struggle.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>Voting is such a small solution, to such a large problem. There are movements for everyone to get involved with. However, the issue is too many of us are too lazy to find those movements.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;”>If we became more concerned with the issues of the world and less concerned with problems like homecoming and the NBA lockout, this world we live in would be a far better place.
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“mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%; font-family: MyriadPro-BoldCond; mso-bidi-font-family: MyriadPro-BoldCond;”> And follow him on Twitter:
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@TrumaineWasHere
- Trumaine McCaskill, Opinon Editor