If you want to understand the Occupy movement and how we, the baby boomer generation created it, then this is the piece to read. Initially we were only going to post excerpts from the post. That would have done it a terrible injustice. IF you, as I am, are a member of the Baby Boomer generation then this mirror . Question becomes, can you handle the truth? From the Burning Platform Blog :
BAD MOON RISING
Over
the last six weeks I’ve watched as the young protestors around the
country have been called: filthy hippies, losers, lazy, coddled,
socialists, communists, spoiled college kids, parasites, useful idiots,
and tools of the left. Most of the wrath being heaped upon these young
people for exercising their Constitutional right to free speech and
freedom of assembly has been from the Baby Boom Generation, who are at
the peak of their power in our society.
I see the bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin’.
I see bad times today.
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising
“Human history seems logical in afterthought but a mystery in forethought.” – The Fourth Turning – Strauss & Howe
The above statement by historians William Strauss and Neil Howe is very significant as we try to make sense of the events unfolding before our very eyes in today’s world. On September 17, a mere six weeks ago, a few hundred young people showed up in Zuccatti Park in Lower Manhattan to protest our corrupt, broken and Wall Street manipulated economic and political system. That first night, approximately 100 protestors occupied the park and were outnumbered by the NYPD in full riot gear. The idea to Occupy Wall Street began circulating on the internet in late August. The Millenial Generation used their social networks and put their tech savvy talents to work. Before long, thousands of protestors showed up in cities across the U.S. The model for this movement was the successful demonstrations in Egypt and Tunisia, earlier in the year.
The initial reaction among mainstream media and politicians across the land was bemusement. A bunch of young hippy throwbacks were going to make a meaningless statement and then fade away. The attention span of Americans is as long as the commercial break between contestants on Dancing With the Stars. Everyone knows the Millenials aren’t to be taken seriously. They are a bunch of spoiled, coddled, lazy college kids who need to get a job. But a funny thing happened during the commercial break. The kids held their ground. They didn’t leave. More young people arrived. More young people began protesting in cities across the country. Middle aged people began to get involved. Even some older people joined the cause. Before long there were thousands of people getting involved. It spread to Europe, with young people occupying London and Rome. Donations and supplies began to pour in from around the world. There’s something happening here, but what it is ain’t exactly clear.
