Cornel West and Micheal Moore on Democracy Now! today discussing their activities and excitement about participating in the Occupy Wall-Street protests. They complain that the Democrats and Obama are attempting to co-opt the movement, and Amy points out "but you both supported him."
Cornel protests "critical support" based on their fear of the Republican alternatives, "but I think both of us knew that he tended to go too much to the center... The occupy movement has been able to show how both parties are tied to oligarchy."
As per my previous complaint: even the strongest voices of the left openly observe that they asked for that which they protest against. The Green party has been around for over a decade, essentially begging for the chance to represent based on the values that these people claim to support. They have remained a footnote in history because the OWS crowd and the voices of the left have spent the last ten years saying "we wish things were different, but we are too afraid of failure to stand for something else."
The leadership on the left naturally reflects this lack of courage and vision. It is foolish to criticize them for delivering the world that their supporters believed in. Again, it may not be what was wished, but this is what was requested.
I attended a Green Party meeting this evening. There were twelve people there. Aside from myself the youngest is over fifty years old. They are very excited about the OWS, and are trying to address the criticism that they should have more of a presence at the protests, despite the fact that almost all of them have participated.
Politics is not my preferred arena; I gained more from talking to the attendees about who they are and how they experience themselves after the meeting than I did from the agenda items. Additionally, my basic discovery that "I am responsible for my own experience" makes the entire premise behind our governmental system an uncomfortable fit, even if it makes it easy for me to love the DIY Hacktivist types. But all the noise has caught my attention, and struck a chord with the shift I've been making.
I'm working on asking smarter. I'd like the wisdom and courage to ask, and receive, according to my deepest wishes.
(love, joy, freedom, power)