Occupy Your Life

This is the moment I've been waiting for all my life. The moment when the people rise up, take a stand against greed and corruption, and truly change the direction we are headed. And now that the moment has come...I don't give a shit.

The Occupy Movement has literally swept the world, with people standing in solidarity, outraged (finally!) by our collective economic state and the reasons behind it. I should be moved, I should be impressed, I should be there. But I'm not, and here's why.

WE are the reason our economies are failing. WE are the reason for the greed, the corruption, the bailouts and the loopholes. I know you don't want to hear that, I know you want to jump up and down and yell about how unfair it is that the 1% is holding all the wealth while we struggle to buy basic necessities. And you're right, it's not fair. But think for a moment about where those fatcats get their money. From us. Our insatiable lust for the newest smart phone, the latest fashion, the fastest car, a bigger TV - that is what fuels the people you are protesting against. Our demand to have the latest thing at the lowest price is what has created this monster. Corporations couldn't get rich and powerful if we weren't buying their shit. Banks couldn't fuck around with our money if we stopped handing it to them in piles, hoping their investments get us just a little richer. And the government couldn't keep creating loopholes and tax breaks for them if we stopped fucking electing them. As long as we keep doing what we're doing, nothing will change. 

I admire your solidarity, and I agree with your principle. Now let's take this somewhere. Let's use this collective power, this passion and this commitment to actually change things. Let's go home and occupy our lives. We need to change our way of thinking. Stop being so fucking greedy and materialistic. Share and trade things instead of buying new. Buy locally. Support farmer's markets. Cut up our credit cards. Buy used cars, or better yet, a bus pass or a bike. Volunteer at the soup kitchen and donate our old jackets to charity. Elect people who will represent us as a whole, instead of who agrees with us about abortion. We have a chance to really make a difference, here. Let's not squander it.