But we know that there is a genuine egalitarian democratic collective consciousness spreading and evolving right now, a new course in human events.

This collective consciousness agrees on a basic primary goal, almost universally agrees that we do not need a leader.

An individual leader can be easily corrupted by ego and pride. Or sex. Or greed. Etc

But this single immutable fact is the clincher:

It is a guarantee that the 1% would devise a foolproof smear against any individual leader, and that this would destroy the OWS movement.

This is why the RW think tanks have devised and have been spreading the meme that OWS needs a leader.

THEY DESPERATELY NEED US TO HAVE A LEADER SO THAT THEY CAN KILL OFF OWS ONCE AND FOR ALL

And this is why we are asking everyone that really cares to stop insisting that we must have a leader

Collectively, this cannot happen.

If an individual leader were to somehow emerge, most of us would be done with OWS.

At that point, we would know that OWS was over, so we can't afford to let this happen.

We don't need any leaders except for us.

We collectively realize that there are many obstacles. Powerful, malevolent opposition will attempt to stop us at all cost, in any and every way possible.

But we collectively know that OWS is a phenomenon whose time in history has come.

We will continue to grow.

The survival of the planet depends on it.

"Only after the last tree has been cut down, Only after the last river has been poisoned, Only after the last fish has been caught, Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten."

Please, join us, and help support and participate in OWS.

Peace

They are going to do something to try to stop the worldwide populist democratic movements from being successful.

A major war can serve them in many ways. Below are some of these ways, but there are many other ways war serves the 1%. War is a complete, proven, time honored win-win for the 1%.

War can stop the current rapid spread of the idea of implementing a form of sensible egalitarian democracy by engaging people worldwide, often forcibly, into their service.

War will create employment, decreasing the dissatisfaction of the public with the status quo, and will cause public opinion to turn against democratic populist movements.

War will generate pseudo-patriotism. Democratic movements will be denounced as unpatriotic.

War will make them enormous profits, giving them more wealth, power, and control over us.

Remember, in war, the 1% are always above the fray. They never get hurt, or lose anything.

They profit on the blood and sacrifice of the 99%. They have always profited on the blood and sacrifice of the 1%. They have no conscience, nor concern for the welfare of human beings.

This is how they'll do it, how they always do it:

"Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on
a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of
it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people
don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in
Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the
country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to
drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist
dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no
voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.
That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked,
and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the
country to danger. It works the same in any country."
-Hermann Goering
Nuremburg
April 18, 1946

I'm just sayin"...I hope and pray that I'm wrong.

Peace

Critical mass is a sociodynamic term to describe the existence of sufficient momentum in a social system such that the momentum becomes self-sustaining and creates further growth.

Social factors influencing critical mass may involve the size, interrelatedness and level of communication in a society or one of its subcultures. Another is social stigma, or the possibility of public advocacy due to such a factor. Critical mass may be closer to majority consensus in political circles, where the most effective position is more often that held by the majority of people in society. In this sense, small changes in public consensus can bring about swift changes in political consensus, due to the majority-dependent effectiveness of certain ideas as tools of political debate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_mass...

I am of the opinion that the OWS played a significant collateral part in the widespread gains for labor and the Democratic party in the recent elections.

Because many of us have little or no confidence in the current wealth controlled campaign/legislative/political status quo, we feel that OWS, right now, is the most effective process for eventually establishing necessary constructive progressive change, and this is how we choose to go about it.

Most of us can't divert our time, energy and resources from moving OWS forward. OWS is the main gig that will bring about change. Dividing our attention by focusing on a political process that we have already found to be ineffective because it has been compromised will be counterproductive.

Any collateral assistance from folks that have more confidence in status quo processes and the inclination to improve democratic effectiveness is surely welcome.

I used to pound the streets for Democrats, but they have really let me down. Now I pound the streets with my sisters and brothers of OWS. I donate to Elizabeh Warren, Dennis Kucinich, Alan Grayson, etc, concerned, intelligent, capable people that share my beliefs and goals. I no longer donate to the DNC or DCCC because they give my money to Third Way candidates that support and help maintain the dictatorship of the 1%.

OWS has something of the spirit that the Democratic party lost when the DLC/Third Way took it over. That spirit is why I have been a Democrat all of my life. The heart and soul of the Dem party have been stolen. No...bought is the better word. I'll still vote for Democrats unless a more viable, effective, and productive alternative arises.

But OWS is where I will be devoting the bulk of my free time, energy, and resources.

A hundred thousand people camped in parks and marching in the streets across the country has conveyed the message very clearly. It's in their face.

The PTB, meaning the 1% and their many employees in government (see link below) ignore the message because acknowledgment implies credibility and subsequently gives the message more publicity.

The primary message of OWS, the immutable glaring fact that wealthy private interests are in almost complete control of the government and that this control is totally undemocratic and is having a very serious negative impact on the majority of the lives of the 99%...

...then has to be addressed publicly by the employees of the PTB that hold many of the highest positions in the federal government. Subsequently, this logically dictates future legislative action if the pretense of democracy in America is to be maintained.

They are hoping that they can kill off the movement, primarily, at this time, through violent, coordinated, massive police attacks on the non-violent persons expressing the aforementioned message through peaceable assemblage, words and other non-violent actions, as well as a widespread media disinformation campaign, so that they will not be forced to acknowledge this OWS message that is crystal clear to them.

Those that don't get the message are by and large the people who are not politically aware of much that is real to begin with, and many of these folks are those who consistently parrot the idiot slogans delivered to them by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. These slogans generally form the foundation of their political awareness and opinions.

And then there are those few that obviously have some type of personal/political/financial agenda that pretend to not get the message.

Who Owns Congress? A Campaign Cash Seating Chart
What if members of Congress were seated not by party but according to their major business sponsors?

http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2010/09/...

If you want to know why many of us are so deeply concerned about having the OWS movement misrepresented, and are concerned about silly RW MSM memes being spread, it is because of the above, and this:

We need you, and everyone else possible, to join our movement so that we can attain the numbers of concerned people necessary to continue and guarantee the success of our admittedly somewhat flawed but overall very effective process of eliminating any and all control that wealthy private interests have over our government and our lives.

This ain't Burger King.

For now, OWS, IMO, is exactly where we need to be in our evolution.

Major political and social change does not happen overnight. Many forces have to be brought to bear in order to effect these changes. OWS is the primary mover for effecting political and social change right now. As the OWS movement evolves, we will continue to adapt our strategies and methods of civil disobedience in response to the repressive measures taken against our existing strategies, as well as develop other strategies logically extrapolated from results of analysis of existing as well as future possibilities. Which strategy(ies) to use will be based upon consensus.

When the time is right, sometime after support for the OWS movement reaches critical mass, there is a good possibility that some type of legislative component will evolve.

At this time, the status quo political process will in no way accommodate the effecting of the necessary changes that we seek to implement. We have no effective means for redress other than direct action strategies.

After these direct action strategies bring about the possibility for equitable negotiation with the powers that be, there may be a possible avenue for change through legislative action.

Until then, the powers that be will keep beating us with clubs and throwing us in jail, and will make every effort, take every possible repressive measure, to protect the 1% and the interests of the 1% from the forces of genuine egalitarian democracy that constitute the collective will of the People.

Back to my reading.

Seriously. The venom, both subtle and direct, that is being spewed toward OWS is scary. Because freerepublic has this very same view of OWS.

OWS is a democratic movement basically comprised of concerned and aware progressives who are basically interested in promoting the labor friendly, egalitarian, corporate regulating, and humanitarian social policies that, at one time, were the province and principles of the Democratic Party.

I'm a lifelong Democrat. I find this naked hatred of a democratic movement disturbing and frightening. I could understand it if this were freerepublic.com.

But it's not. It's democraticunderground.com

Something is so very, very wrong with this picture.

So very wrong, in all the wrong ways.

Actually, I do see some value in attempting to present the President with a petition that should make him aware of our concerns, because he rarely or never seems to acknowledge these concerns publicly, so we'll try this way, this time. Hello? Mr. President...?

But he can note our concerns, and address congress publicly about these concerns.

I fully understand that he can not, himself, take legislative action through his office to address these concerns.

I hope I have made that clear enough. I'm sorry if this last seems condescending, but I seem to be able to make what appear to me to be clear, direct, honest statements like that, and some folks will somehow not understand them, and they will obtusely come back again with the very same argument that I already clearly addressed.

This is very important to most of us. We are in the streets, all over the country fighting for these concerns to be addressed. These concerns are now in the media every day. We are being beaten, gassed, and jailed for trying to have our concerns addressed. We feel that our 1st Amendment Rights are being trampled in this process. It appears that City, State, and Federal legislative and law enforcement authorities may be colluding to abridge our first amendment rights and to physically harm us as well. This is very serious.

Yet the President apparently continues to ignore our concerns. We really want to hear from him on this issue. For him to talk to us about it. At length. Clearly, honestly, and specifically.

I have no more, or no less, respect for the President than I do my next door neighbor. He puts his clothes on and takes a dump every morning just like we all do. Authority does not cow me, nor generate undue respect in me, in the least. He's just another person to me, the same as me. In fact, he is our employee. Many folks, including myself, would like to hear the President directly and publicly address Congress with the our concerns about the influence of wealth in our government. On the big stage, from the most powerful bully pulpit in the world.

This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an unreasonable request, given the state of the nation.

A nice little Fireside Chat, perhaps, explaining the importance of ending privately funding campaigns and why Congress will never pass critical legislation regarding campaign finance and lobbying. We want total candidness and sincerity. Truth. Clarity. Transparency. Straightforward, specific communication. No smoke, no vague references that might or might not have something to do with the issue at hand,, no doublespeak.

Honestly, I respect your intelligence. I realize that you are a passionate advocate for the President. It just that it is very apparent that you are smart enough to be asking many of these same questions of the President that we are, and it strikes me as strange that you (apparently) are not, but are rather making lame excuses for the President's lack of action.

Obtusely skirting the primary issue(s) of a discussion, avoiding the heart of the matter because it may be painful for some reason, leads us around in a circle.

Truth, honesty, and transparency are key elements of both discussion and functional democracy. The President is fully aware of our concerns, yet has not taken steps to satisfactorily address them to us, in such capacity as he is capable of. (Again, I am afraid that you are going to hit me with, "BUT HE CAN'T DO ANYTHING"!!! If you do this, I will consider it completely ludicrous and disingenuous.

Because there is no law that prevents him from directly, freely, and publicly speaking to either congress or to we the people.

The fact that 25,000 Americans feel the need to file a petition of this nature as another attempt to get the attention of the President on this issue is a shame and clearly defines the travesty of the current state of our government and the nation.

In the eyes of the law.

The whole idea of having black slaves in this country was to make sure that white folks could have free labor.

Slaves made more profits for slave owners.

Slaveowners owned their slaves, and slaves had no legal rights.

In that sense, slaves were considered property, and not persons.

I'm just saying that a lawyer might be comfortable with the statement that black slaves were not people.

If it was me I would reply that I can tell right from wrong, and, since black slaves have hearts and souls and minds and look just like white folks except that their skin is somewhat darker, that they are definitely obviously people.

My point is that just because the law tells us something is true solely for purposes of commercial convenience, it does not, in reality, make something true, or moral, or ethical.

Or anywhere within the realm of reason or common sense.

I recognize that enormously wealthy, greedy, malevolent megalomaniacs have established, in their own self interest, a global economic program that is causing widespread and completely unnecessary misery, hunger, suffering, and death to multitudes of people.

This program is responsible for the establishment of undemocratic governmental policies that value and promote the accumulation of wealth by wealthy private interests over the needs and wishes of the overwhelming majority of human beings.

This program promotes the rampant and almost unhindered poisoning and destruction of the environment of our planet.

This program supresses and neutralizes the democratic endeavors and democratic systems that the overwhelming majority of human beings who exist on the planet wish to employ, in order to create, establish, and maintain a government of, by, and for, themselves, individually and collectively.

I seek to assist in bringing about economic justice, and the unfettered democratic ability of my people to govern ourselves by removing any and all power that wealthy private interests have over our lives, and then to assist in establishing a system of egalitarian democracy that recognizes and values the individual and collective dignity and well being of all human beings, and the necessity of respecting all life and maintaining a healthy planetary environment for ourselves and for all future generations of human beings to enjoy.

That's just me, I hold the microphone. I am one "Occupy" woman.

Passing the mic.

"When the power of Love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace".
James Marshall Hendrix

I believe that this is what needs to be done after we reach critical mass.

The reason that I posted this is because I have been floating this idea to all kinds of people, and they all agreed that a Constitutional Amendment of this nature is a good idea.

It is a thing that many people recognize as necessary, and they can get behind it.

It is a means, I believe, of gaining support and more rapidly attaining critical mass.

Either Congress passes a comprehensive Constitutional Amendment, written by the 99%, that takes all the money games out of politics and government forever, or we non-violently shut commerce down until they do. We unquestionably have the collective power to do so.

A Constitutional Amendment of this nature is a matter of life and death to our survival as a nation. It is absolutely critical to the survival of democracy in America.

If we have to shut the country down and the government continues to refuse to accede to the wishes of the People, an alternative will arise that insures that the will of the People gets done on the terms of the People.

This is not negotiable.

It's far too late to be fruitlessly dinking around with courts and bogus laws and a bogus legislative system made by the 1% for the 1%. The system has become so foolish and shameful a parody of democracy that it could be a Monte Python film.

There is no other possible way for us to attain democratic government, unless we create a wholly new government independent of existing government, which most probably would take a great deal of time, time we may not have, to establish.

Congress will never, never, never, pass a foolproof/loophole proof Constitutional Amendment of this nature unless we force them to by direct action.

It's totally up to us, right here, right now, no second chances.

We either use the key being forged by Anonymous and the OWS movement, or we agree to accept the chains of the 1%.

(This post is solely my personal opinion, I am not speaking for OWS, Anonymous, or any other group, although there may be some that agree with this opinion to a large extent).

Peace

But I can't really answer the question because what I would give up totally depends on the qualities of the new social and economic order and the ability of this new social and economic order to sustain itself.

My requirements for survival, personal needs and desires would change from how I exist in this capitalist consumer society to how I would exist according to the possibilities of the new system.

The question requires a vast spectrum of things to consider. "Giving up" goods, rights, events, choices, institutions, etc. (the list is virtually endless) would depend on the return.

I can say this for sure: I can be totally happy and can live with almost nothing - very few basic material things in a tropical place as long as my basic survival needs are met, and as long as I have lots of free time to love, think, create, dream, hike, swim in the ocean, am free to travel freely, and nobody fucks with me. Or something similar.

Kind of like modern semi-communal tribal life free from the control of the the forces of superstition, and all the restrictive baggage that goes along with having to deal with the seen and unseen imperialistic impositions into most areas of our lives that unrestrained undemocratic free market capitalism forces into our personal space, the baggage that many people accept as "just the way things are".

Anyway, that's kind of what I

Imagine

Shanti Sena is one way we maintain peace and harmony at Rainbow Gatherings. It has been extremely effective for us for 4 decades. I'm not sure how this would work with OWS, but if outlined and discussed in General Assemblies, a consensus on some effective variant of Shanti Sena might be achieved and later implemented.

It may be the most effective method for identifying and containing the Black/Blackwater Bloc(s), and for preventing them from committing acts of violence and destruction as well.

Comments/Ideas/Suggestions kicked around here at DU could be very useful for discussion at General Assemblies.

Shanti Sena

The Shanti Sena or "Peace army" was made up of Gandhi's followers in India. Its non-violent methods have been adopted by other movements such as the World Peace Brigade, Nonviolent Peaceforce, Swaraj Peeth and the Rainbow Family of Living Light.

"Shanti Sena" is a term first coined by Gandhi when he conceptualized a nonviolent volunteer peacekeeping program dedicated to minimizing communal violence within the Indian populace. The words "Shanti" and "Sena" both come from Sanskrit. Shanti means peace and Sena means army, or a drilled band of men. The word "Sena" has been criticized for its connection to militarism, but for Gandhi, it had strong metaphorical and spiritual qualities connected to its use in the Hindu vedas.

In the aftermath of the Gandhian era, Shanti Sena has appeared in various incarnations. Two Gandhian followers developed separate groups based on their interpretations of it: Vinoba Bhave established a Shanti Sena that prioritized Gandhi's spiritual approach towards the program, while JP established a program that focused more on the political motivations of the program. The Shanti Sena program also became institutionalized into India's Gandhigram Rural University, where it was incorporated into the university's constitution. Currently Shanti Sena is also very active in Sri Lanka as a part of the organization Sarvodaya.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanti_Sena

In addition to the vibe that we are *all* responsible for keeping the peace, and the encouragement for everyone to be involved in what we Rainbows see as a community responsibility, it's important to know that there is also a Shanti Sena Clan that sees peacekeeping as being their primary volunteer service at a gathering. There is some consistency in networking and communications for more serious or ongoing situations, as well.

Just as with any volunteer service, some people don't want to do it at all. Others are happy to help out when the need arises. Others, such as myself, consider ourselves on duty 24 hours a day. Naturally, the degree of experience and competence varies, as does the degree to which people communicate with others about day-to-day or ongoing situations.

Many of the folks at the gathering carry radios. Not all of them are Shanti Sena. And not all Shanti Sena clan carry radios at all times. But if there is a serious situation that needs more than an on-the-spot intervention, anyone can go up to anyone with a radio and ask them to call for a major Shanti Sena effort or a Shanti Sena council.

Examples of when to put out the word gathering-wide that Shanti Sena help is needed would be an instance of a lost child, or a violent person who is out of control.

http://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/tech/sh...

Peace

an ideology that emphasizes that the rights of corporations to trade and profit freely on a global scale takes precedence over the democratic and human rights of individuals as well as the laws and governments of any sovereign national state.

In other words, neoliberalism is the belief that it is the supreme right of wealthy private interests to make profits anywhere and everywhere at any time is the supreme law of the planet, and to do whatever they deem necessary to enforce this "right".