Home

Follow Countercurrents on Twitter 

Why Subscribe ?

Popularise CC

Join News Letter

Editor's Picks

Press Releases

Action Alert

Feed Burner

Read CC In Your
Own Language

Bradley Manning

India Burning

Mumbai Terror

Financial Crisis

Iraq

AfPak War

Peak Oil

Globalisation

Localism

Alternative Energy

Climate Change

US Imperialism

US Elections

Palestine

Latin America

Communalism

Gender/Feminism

Dalit

Humanrights

Economy

India-pakistan

Kashmir

Environment

Book Review

Gujarat Pogrom

Kandhamal Violence

WSF

Arts/Culture

India Elections

Archives

Links

Submission Policy

About CC

Disclaimer

Fair Use Notice

Contact Us

Search Our Archive

Subscribe To Our
News Letter



Our Site

Web

Name: E-mail:

 

Printer Friendly Version

A Closer Look At The Coming April 15, 2011
Union Square Demonstration

By Frank Rummel

06 April, 2011
Countercurrents.org

A pivotal, historic event for the United States, with wide-scope
impact on the whole planet could be in the making - if a critical mass
of people catch on to this new opportunity.

US Uncut and Kevin Zeese's Prosperity Agenda are joining forces in New
York City's Union Square and across the United States on April 15th to
build momentum for much needed economic reform. The Coffee Party and
other activist groups will also participate.

Kevin Gibson, a new player in the political activsm arena, deserves a
round of applause for co-founding US Uncut which recently organized
demonstrations against Bank of America in over 40 major US cities.

On the other hand, according to Wikipedia, "Kevin Zeese is an American
political activist who has been a leader in the drug policy reform and
peace movements and in efforts to ensure a voter verified paper audit
trail. He was on the ballot as the nominee of the Maryland Green Party
for a U.S. Senate seat during the 2006 election, receiving 1.5% of the
total vote."

The website (itsoureconomy.us) for this event states: "It's Our
Economy seeks to educate, organize and mobilize Americans to shift the
power from concentrated capital to the people. We work to create an
economy that is democratized, where people have greater control over
their economic lives and greater influence over the direction of the
economy."

The demands are that banks stop foreclosures, corporations pay their
fair share of taxes and "to big to fail" corporations be broken up.

The website gets even more interesting when you read the "Democracy"
page and find charts and concepts put forth by People For A New
Society (PFANS) detailing an ambitious program for economic reform.

Over all, I think the It's Our Economy website gives the proper focus
for this point in time, with a hint of things-to-come to entice those
who may be disappointed with the limitations to the current
objectives.

Next, I did a "fly over" of the PFANS website where I observed
reinforcement of the concept that the Founding Fathers and Mothers
realized that times change, so they provided us with the 5th Amendment
to the Constitution which describes the process whereby the
Constitution may be altered.

Okay, so we have the power to change things, but the problem is: ECONOMICS.

PFANS looks at Capitalism and points out it's problems:

"Too many have been convinced that the present system, Capitalism -
with its basis in competition, greed and agression - isn't perfect but
the best we can do given our 'human nature'. We're told endlessly that
'co-operation' is for dreamers, idealists and while it sounds nice, at
best it's a utopian fantasy.

Our instincts tell us our present road is leading to disaster, that we
must change. But with all evidence in front of us, the question has
actually come down to 'Can We?'

Capitalism may have used those traits with success so far, especially
for the few; but the tipping point has been reached for the well-being
and health of both the planet and its inhabitants. Our very survival
is now being threatened by too much insistence on competition and
individualism and thoughtless disregard for the future.

Seeing that all life is interconnected and co-dependent, as the
dominant species we need to create ways to a more constructive and
sustainable path. The point is, we can."

Next, I saw ideas on how we can organize; as activists and as a society.

Their ideas are too numerous to give them all proper consideration
here. However, they do bring up concepts that may not sit well with
some.

For example, their treatment of the interaction of community, industry
and government is IMHO very socialistic or even, dare I say,
"Communism".

Children of the "Cold War" learned that Capitalism and Communism were
arming for a potential nuclear fight to the death and that Socialism
was just the slippery slope to Communism.

Times have changed. Nowadays we have to face the fact that Social
Security, Medicare and Medicaid etc. are really just Socialism.

Moreover, Communism in the "McCarthy" era of the 1950s is very
different from the Communism in today's young minds who see China as
some guys who make all the stuff we buy at Wal-Mart. And...uh...so
maybe human rights isn't China's strong suit.

Then again there are some who might even question Democracy. Was it
not Thomas Jefferson who said: "A democracy is nothing more than mob
rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights
of the other forty-nine."?

PFANS has suggestions on how to form a third party and take control in
Congress. In adddition, they suggest the possibility of using the
Internet as part of this new system. At minimum, on the PFANS website
we see some very progessive content.

Young and old, Republicans and Democrats, ladies and gentiles, snakes
and reptiles, will all have to evaluate PFAN's ideas for themselves.

In conclusion, I believe it important to keep the new activism simple
and focused and mainly get the people into the streets voicing their
desire for serious economic reform. We need to see this momentum
continue to grow.

While it is comforting to know there are many Americans working for
change and thinking of solutions, it will take some time for everyone
to digest the situation and create a better United States economic
system.

Great days are ahead.

Frank Rummel is an activist/writer living in Phoenix Arizona and blogs
at usuncutblog.com

 


 




 


Comments are not moderated. Please be responsible and civil in your postings and stay within the topic discussed in the article too. If you find inappropriate comments, just Flag (Report) them and they will move into moderation que.