Letters to Editor, Opinion

LETTER: Revolution in the making

There is a revolution in the making, in case you did not know. It started last Friday, and has grown in popularity with each passing day. As organic as movements can be, it is symbolized by a single percentage: 99 percent. I am referring, of course, to Occupy Boston.

Occupy Boston is the beacon of democracy this country urgently needs. Critics deride us for not listing clear demands, but they do not understand. They have yet to experience the empowerment of consensus, an operating method under which each participant wields an equal voice. They have not spent a day in Dewey Square, discussing politics and tactics with persons of all stripes. If they did, they would quickly realize why clear demands are not feasible, nor desired, for they would find a vast swath of the political arena represented. Occupying Dewey Square are both Ron Paul supporters and ardent socialists, both staunch anti-war activists and war veterans.

Occupying Dewey Square are the 99 percent, the individuals who have slaved for years in the American economy, working diligently and endlessly to pay rent and support their families. Though we lack demands, our message has been loud and clear: we want our rightful seat at the table. We are tired of being represented by politicians in Washington who value campaign contributions from Lloyd Blankfein more than the hungry and discontented folks lining the streets of Boston. We are tired of a political system where the best funded idea trumps the best idea. We are tired of constant corruption and endless bailouts for the privileged, of limitless wars, of over-priced healthcare and of skyrocketing unemployment. We are tired, and we will no longer be complacent.

In place of demands, Occupy Boston has solutions. In fact, Occupy Boston IS the solution. The factor most imperative for perpetuating the crony capitalist American economic system has always been its constituents’ indifference. Stagnating growth and limiting mobility, wage labor strips workers of their freedom, entrapping them in a relentless struggle for survival. The mother who works 12-hour days to feed her family knows not of human empowerment or effective activism to improve her situation. She is undoubtedly disgruntled, yet her situation effectively peculates her inherent right to the pursuit of happiness.Occupy Boston is the solution because it is a bold rejection of that system. That masses of individuals have freely gathered to commence a dialogue on our nation’s future and actively demonstrate for their democratic rights is the most amazing violation of the American social structure. It is the courageous assertion that we are not simply workers, but also human beings with needs, beliefs and most importantly, constructive ideas.

No matter what happens with Occupy Boston, know that we have already succeeded. Thus far, for a week, we have asserted the power of the people, and captivated the hearts and minds of the world. We are the solution.

-Luke Rebecchi, College of Arts and Sciences  sophomore and ‘BU Occupies Boston’ member

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