My Thoughts on OWS

The 99% or the 1%?

The Occupy Wall Street crowd has been calling our attention to the imbalance of the distribution of wealth in our society.  Often the message is a bit simplistic, but overall, it is an important message for us to consider.  Corporate power in the political process and in society at large needs to be judged on its contribution to the common good.  Certainly that goes against the Ayn Rand followers, but life is always about more than the first person singular.  I am supportive of the OWS movement, and hope that the energy will evolve into something that will be a force to help our society progress to more fully care for one another.

But.

I also think that we should remember that when we think beyond our society, we are all part of the 1%.  A couple nights ago I saw the film Greening the Revolution that tried to deal with the politics of food amidst globalization.  It is way too big a topic to cover in 80 minutes, but there was a lot to think about.  What sticks with me most are the images from Haiti of people making mud pies.  Yeah, I know kids do it everywhere, but it Haiti people do it to eat – toss in a little butter and sugar, and that is all some people can afford.  I doubt the residents of Cité Soleil in Port-au-Prince really understand why people who have food and homes are raising such a ruckus.

That doesn’t mean that OWS is not important.  It may serve to remind us though that just as we look at the haves of our society and the various policies that give them protection and help them accumulate more and more wealth – often at the expense of those who have far less, we of the 99% are the beneficiates of policies that have allowed our society to accumulate great wealth as a whole.  We are the ones who enjoy affordable food because others have none or because their farms are used by corporations to export food to us rather than feed themselves.

As I said, I support OWS and the way it is spreading throughout the country.  But whatever gains for our society come of that will be meaningless if we do not also recognize that being the 1% globally makes us hypocrites if we limit the idea of community to ourselves.