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Occupy the Public Forum: 5 Values to Profess Beyond the Protest
While some people are frustrated that the Occupiers haven’t issued detailed policy briefs, they managed to do something arguably more important: open a dialog on values that has been held captive by conservative forces for years .
Occupy Wall Street and its solidarity tents are injecting a different set of questions and issues into what used to be our public forum. Truth be told, they are injecting a lot of disjointed, broad questions and issues, and that’s great. This isn’t the time to hone and package outrage into ballot initiatives or candidates. It is a time to put forth core beliefs and principles and demand that they be discussed, vetted and applied in meaningful ways.
I've heard five core values, by no means the whole list. Rather, they are a starting point for a real discussion about what we, as a nation, embrace that can make us vibrant and whole.
Value #1: People are people, and corporations are not. That means, among other things, that a government of the people, by the people and for the people should represent (and be represented by) bi-peds and not corporate conglomerations. At a fundamental level, our economic disaster and the bailouts to date shows who the current court and office holders view as “people” – and it is not us.
Value #2: Fairness. This does not mean equal shares for all, or serious retributions of wealth and land. It does mean valuing what the parable (and investor Warren Buffett) opines: from those who have, more shall be required. And, the less stated corollary, those that don’t have substance should at least have a reasonable avenue to a sustainable future rather than a chasm of debt.
Value #3: Responsibility. This value includes both individual responsibility and collective responsibility, so it’s a biggie. And it’s tricky because we want to believe – as we have been coached, coddled and cajoled to believe by media – that more is better. Individually, we are entitled to more than our ancestors, and collectively, as a nation, we are entitled to more than the rest of the world. Truth is, more is more and not better. Unlimited growth is not possible with a limited earth. Do we really value “more” and “better” above sustainability and a dignified life, particularly if only a small percentage actually experience the more and better? Many young people, but not only them, aren’t buying that non-stop production of greenhouse gases or gobbling of resources is a good thing now, and definitely aren’t buying that it’s a good thing for the next generations. The question is: do we value the future enough to change the present?
Value #4: The Commons exist. Contrary to the values espoused by capitalism and those who benefit from privatizing anything for which there is a demand (e.g. water, land, air), this value asserts that some things belong to all of us and are essential for democracy. Rain that falls in one state does not belong to another’s water resource management, aquifers in Cochabamba do not belong to private industries, nor do mountain tops and ecosystems belong to coal companies or the highest bidder.
Value #5: Solidarity matters. This value usually leads immediately to discussion of tactics, movements or event hierarchies of wanted outcomes. Before we go there, let’s first acknowledge that connections with one another hold value. As human beings, we have the capacity to recognize both similarities and differences, reach beyond our solitary selves to connect with others. How we connect, how deeply and broadly, how fully matters. What’s more, solidarity is a two-way street not to be confused with charity.
Occupy Wall Street and subsequent gatherings give us a chance to hold discussions about core values that have not happened in years. Certainly they haven’t happened in political debates. Rarely have they happened in media, or even in what few civic forums remain (e.g. religious gatherings, university halls, library or theater rooms, etc.). Now they are happening in the street – perhaps the most democratic of public forums. That’s a good start.
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Show AllIt is time for us to talk to each other and to "listen" to each other. Out of that sharing will come our strength to endure what is to come.
The people together will decide what wrongs are to be righted and in a judicious and lawful manner. If this is not allowed then the people’s voice ( Vox populi) will be heard around the world. .
I read it on an empty stomach. Her "Value #5: Solidarity matters" reminded me of the argument that the Democrats bring out every two years to keep progressives onside for yet another election cycle as we are urged to unite again to keep/remove Republican fingers from the levers of power. Well reasoned discussion of shared values can become discouraged by using the solidarity principal once one group gets the advantage. That group can easily forget that "solidarity is a two-way street".
Yesterday, we had about 40 people out at our third weekly day of support for OWS efforts in Rapid City, SD.
Later in the afternoon, about 1,000 participated in a "Zombie Walk," the irony of which probably was probably lost on them.
"Value #2: Fairness. This does not mean equal shares for all, or serious retributions of wealth and land. It does mean valuing what the parable (and investor Warren Buffett) opines: from those who have, more shall be required."
Doesn't seem very fair to me.
Barely a day goes by in which some liberal like Cenk what's-his-face or today, Carol Schachet, appear in the media or state in print that this movement is NOT about such and such and IS about this and that.
I wonder though -- who appointed these people spokespersons?
They're desperately trying to strangle this thing in its crib. "Serious redistribution of wealth and land"!? God forbid!
Has not God already forbade us from imagining the return of much wealth and land back to the Commons?
I don't find anything here objectionable. But if you want solidarity with OWS you will have to come on down and hang out and get to know the people.
Value #4 is expressed too loosely to be fruitful. There are Commons, such as air and water, which should not be privatized. Unfortunately, some economists think otherwise.
I once read a report (I believe it was from the Natl Defense Research Council) by an economist who felt that clean air was not a right - we should be willing to pay for it.
Think about that. If we allow corporations to pollute the atmosphere, we are admitting that they own it. In that context, legislation such as the Clean Air Act, which allows them to emit certain levels of pollutants, has transferred ownership to any company which has the money to build a smokestack.
The Clean Water act does the same thing. As long as you keep the emissions below a certain value, you are allowed to pollute.
Free market capitalism is based on the "belief" (not a fundamental law) that when markets prevail, resources will be allocated efficiently. But it says nothing about equity. And that is something most of those who post to this site are aware of and which they deplore.
Value No. 7: Power corrupts, especially the power of wealth. Separate the powerful from their wealth, or abandon any hope of justice.
Carol is listening. Her values list seems accurate and open ended. Where she errs is by saying, "This isn’t the time to hone and package outrage into ballot initiatives or candidates." Carol doesn't understand that this is NOT a political movement. It is a SOCIAL movement designed to establish a new culture with new institutions that reflect reality in the 21st Century. The PROCESS is the AGENDA. Trust the process.
Thanks for great article. For more on what OWS is about, take a look at Judith Butler's short talk at OWS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVpoOdz1AKQ (Butler is Professor of Rhetoric at U.C. Berkeley -- no worries though, talk is short and sweet.) Text posted on: OccupyWriters.com
Also, interesting DVD with contemporary philosophers: "Examined Life", dir. by Astra Taylor.
I agree with what Carol is doing/attempting. I am reading a veteran of the Polish Solidarity movement who wrote (in 1998), "What is more, the struggle must not simply be a struggle against the ruling order; it must be waged in the name of values that are deemed central by the whole of society." I would certainly add the value of "Accountability" to Carol's list.
".... nor do mountain tops and ecosystems belong to coal companies or the highest bidder. "
This is important to hear and to understand. The long term damage that is being done to the earth, to its people, by the unscrupulous rich .. is permanent, and has to be stopped by the people whose lives are ruined for their pleasure
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Listen to Crystal Blue Day: http://www.audiostreet.net/artist.aspx?artistid=968