I wrote about "Occupiers Of Wall Street - Listening - And Educating" on October 18th.
Yes, they are expressing their free speech rights, but does that include hurting others and running up big bills?
They are asking for benefits and compassion, yet hurting businesses and costing them and the cities hundreds of thousands of dollars.
They even shut down the Port of Oakland, depriving fellow "99%ers" from their daily wages.
Yes, there must be listened to and there must be free speech, but we must draw the line at other people being hurt and the damage that is being caused.
I believe that a true leader is needed here, who will be the compassionate but wise adult in the room. We should have a President who steps up to the plate, even if there is political advantage for him in repeating his 1% against the 99% theme and inciting voters to go to him.
He has an ethical choice here:
To do what is best for the nation or
To do what is best for his election
A full blown speech and "talking to" is merited here - one that does not exploit the politics but encourages solution and cooperation. The President has been light on both, although he advocated them in his campaign speeches, as is pointed out in the chronicling of the President's moves in Ron Suskind's book Confidence Men.
Such a speech would express compassion (a good thing to show to be reelected) and understanding, laying out their concerns and pointing out that particular races, creeds, and types should not be blamed but that the system has to be fixed to support what works. And then he needs to lay out what will be done and can be done, calling on them to seek positive solutions and to be responsible for producing results as productive citizens operating without blame.
Is there an adult in the room? Will we draw a line between where someone can flail their arms and where they are hitting us in the nose (beyond the boundary of no harm)?
Will we begin to have an adult conversation that is absolutely necessary and will lead us further to creating a strong America, with each citizen stepping up to pitch in? If so, we can have a great future. If not, then...
I hope there is a rational choice made here.
The Rational NonPolitician
(www.thenonpolitician.homestead.com )
I voted for Obama (see the site for why) and I had hoped he would do what he said he would do. But now all fact finding points to his not following through on his promises plus being unable to govern nor to have the perspective to be able to make the right choices. Unfortunately, "on the job training" is not effective for a President.
Showing posts with label Occupy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Occupy. Show all posts
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Occupiers Of Wall Street - Listen...And Educate
The expression of dissatisfaction from those "occupying Wall Street" needs to be listened to by those "in power" and the problem of unemployment and the feeling of injustice need to be addressed.
I personally would set up a large room for the protesters to come into, handing out a sheet of rules of using rational, healthy, fact-based discussion without heated hate, which they must agree to as a condition of entering this meeting - and specifying that this would be an indication of their willingness to create positive results.
And from that, as part of the above agreement, I would write up a summary of the key points and the solutions that they suggested. Then I would go back and come up with (which would be one of the promises in the rules) a plan to address those issues. (Depending on how the meeting goes, it would include a "greenlight" brainstorming session on solutions and/or a separate session where the group selecting, say, 15 members to participate in that meeting.)
Now, of course, with little experience in life and not yet alot of perspective on things, the young people would easily buy into not-so-well-thought-out conclusions. But it will do no good to criticize anyone for not yet being aware of what works. One can only address that with education - meaning facts and sound reasoning. The education should not only be in written form(s) but also in brief videos, all linked together on a website the protesters could go to.
The issues:
Per surveys, 34% think the US is as bad as Al Qaeda.
Some say "replace capitalism with democracy" - which no one would say with perspective (as both exist side by side and are not contradictory). Teaching simplified lessons in what capitalism and socialism are and how each has worked or not worked.
The 1% being unfair and harming the 99%. (Most citizens in the US don't think they are not well off enough, but still the others who are not well off need to be educated and also given more insight into how to prosper.)
Those evil wall street people (even lumping in CEOs in general) are the cause of the problems (instead of looking at the many causes).
Recalling, with empathy
When I was that age, I believed I knew more than I knew and I had several things out of whack.
Ridiculing any group, as far as I can tell, never brought things to solution. Only listening with empathy for how they feel, even if there is not agreement yet, is what works. Only addressing the issues, with empathy and respect, is what works. Only teaching, in a way that is compatible with the age group, is what works. And collaborating further, until the sides come together in cooperation and compromise is what works.
I don't see that happening right now.
A President taking advantage of this
Although Presidents in the past have not been perfect examples of this, I believe a President must be an adult in this matter. Though he could take advantage of this conversation to confirm how wrong others are and to create more dissension, for his political benefit, that would not be "in integrity".
This President has said he stands for, and has even promised that, getting rid of the dissension and resolving things in cooperation, but his actions have not matched his original rhetoric at all - in fact they have been a near opposite. Whether his ideas are correct or incorrect is not the issue here - his behavior is.
If we are to resolve this "class warfare", we must use "what works", not do the opposite.
The "occupiers" must be fully heard and honored and respected - and a resolution arrived at.
This is not a question of which side of the argument you are on, but a question of whether we are to do what works.
Mr. Obama (and the rest of you), are you willing to put "what works" ahead of politics?
As always, rational inputs that are helpful are welcomed.
The Rational NonPolitician
P.S. I am sad to see the opposite sides use this for political gain, for make wrong, for blame, or for any other purpose than an ethical one that is aimed at resolution and cooperation.
I personally would set up a large room for the protesters to come into, handing out a sheet of rules of using rational, healthy, fact-based discussion without heated hate, which they must agree to as a condition of entering this meeting - and specifying that this would be an indication of their willingness to create positive results.
And from that, as part of the above agreement, I would write up a summary of the key points and the solutions that they suggested. Then I would go back and come up with (which would be one of the promises in the rules) a plan to address those issues. (Depending on how the meeting goes, it would include a "greenlight" brainstorming session on solutions and/or a separate session where the group selecting, say, 15 members to participate in that meeting.)
Now, of course, with little experience in life and not yet alot of perspective on things, the young people would easily buy into not-so-well-thought-out conclusions. But it will do no good to criticize anyone for not yet being aware of what works. One can only address that with education - meaning facts and sound reasoning. The education should not only be in written form(s) but also in brief videos, all linked together on a website the protesters could go to.
The issues:
Per surveys, 34% think the US is as bad as Al Qaeda.
Some say "replace capitalism with democracy" - which no one would say with perspective (as both exist side by side and are not contradictory). Teaching simplified lessons in what capitalism and socialism are and how each has worked or not worked.
The 1% being unfair and harming the 99%. (Most citizens in the US don't think they are not well off enough, but still the others who are not well off need to be educated and also given more insight into how to prosper.)
Those evil wall street people (even lumping in CEOs in general) are the cause of the problems (instead of looking at the many causes).
Recalling, with empathy
When I was that age, I believed I knew more than I knew and I had several things out of whack.
Ridiculing any group, as far as I can tell, never brought things to solution. Only listening with empathy for how they feel, even if there is not agreement yet, is what works. Only addressing the issues, with empathy and respect, is what works. Only teaching, in a way that is compatible with the age group, is what works. And collaborating further, until the sides come together in cooperation and compromise is what works.
I don't see that happening right now.
A President taking advantage of this
Although Presidents in the past have not been perfect examples of this, I believe a President must be an adult in this matter. Though he could take advantage of this conversation to confirm how wrong others are and to create more dissension, for his political benefit, that would not be "in integrity".
This President has said he stands for, and has even promised that, getting rid of the dissension and resolving things in cooperation, but his actions have not matched his original rhetoric at all - in fact they have been a near opposite. Whether his ideas are correct or incorrect is not the issue here - his behavior is.
If we are to resolve this "class warfare", we must use "what works", not do the opposite.
The "occupiers" must be fully heard and honored and respected - and a resolution arrived at.
This is not a question of which side of the argument you are on, but a question of whether we are to do what works.
Mr. Obama (and the rest of you), are you willing to put "what works" ahead of politics?
As always, rational inputs that are helpful are welcomed.
The Rational NonPolitician
P.S. I am sad to see the opposite sides use this for political gain, for make wrong, for blame, or for any other purpose than an ethical one that is aimed at resolution and cooperation.
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