Protests show fundamental flaws in legal system
Occupy Columbia started this weekend with a strong force, amazing weather and a good vibe – the holy trinity of political protests. But the question on everyone's lips – from newscasters to online commenters – is, what's the point? Do they have an overall goal? From Columbia to Los Angeles to New York, this question has weighed heavily on participants and critiques alike.
The overall goal – well, there really isn't one. And that's OK. What is shared by these protesters is the idea that the government is not working for them.
As Scott West, a first-year library science graduate student and co-chair of the South Carolina Green Party, said, "We aren't expecting to be saved by a politician. We aren't looking to a party to save the day." Left, right, center – all stand broken before the senseless lack and outright failure of public policy in this country. And by public policy, I don't mean the talking points that have been spoon-fed to us over the TV.
We can rant about ideology, but when it comes to actual implementation of law – which has moved out of the hands of straw man politicians and into those of their fundraisers and invisible staffs – we are starting to feel a dangerous lack.
This outrage does not take on a specific issue. Instead, it tears at the system of policy decisions that has left the wealthiest in luxury, not by their hard work or capitalistic competitiveness (as those who defend them like to say), but through a spider's web of legal fallbacks.
We are a generation notorious for its apathy. What may be best to get us out of our comfort zone could be this type of protest, where everyone can add their own individual marks to a movement that attacks the running of the country, not just a party agenda.
Of course, these individual marks have attracted the most criticism as media outlets have been hung up on what I would call the "cosmetic differences" among occupiers. Yes, there are artists and weekend Marxists and all the other fringe political elements that the powers-that-be have scared us with for years. But there are also the faces of the more "commonplace" Americans: the retired professional, the newly-hired student, the mother of three. Perhaps that is what frightens critics the most – the fact that policy making has become so bad in this country to draw everyone to the front lines (or, in our case, the Statehouse on a sunny fall Saturday).
For a long time, I struggled to have an opinion on all this. I understand the unfairness the occupiers saw; I understand men and women who accuse this movement as a blame game for those who find themselves secure (for the moment). But I must say: The way of making laws in this country is wrong and outright lacking in human intelligence. Greed and power have sewn their way into our civic decisions, choking the life from both the process and our ability to participate in it. The Occupy movement might not change this, but it is proof of a refusal to continue to be a part of this – and refusal is the first step.