Despite the initial disregard of national media outlets, the spreading Occupy Wall Street movement has managed to propel itself into the country’s political consciousness. The occupations are a reminder of the power that members of a democratic society possess beyond the ballot box – to add our voices to a political discourse that has become cluttered with useless rhetoric and endless politicking.
An important element of the group’s ability to grow has been its malleability. It is a movement that has collected every drop of disgruntlement over the past few years, particularly as the economy continues to decline, and has become a flood – not so much an organized movement as an intense outburst of emotion.
As the movement spreads across the country and garners an increasing amount of media attention, it is under increasing pressure to better define its demands. Although the movement’s lack of ideological cohesion has actually helped it grow, its long-term success will be determined by translating its myriad grievances into achievable political objectives.
Its lack of organization certainly does not detract from the legitimacy of the movement’s complaints, but the cacophony of discontent will harm the movement’s ability to pressure politicians to address specific issues. Occupy DC, though, has been the first to adopt specific political goals. On Saturday, the group joined with anti-war protestors in an attempt to invade the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, protesting a special exhibit about drones and the use of drones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Occupy movement has given voice to a wide variety of leftist political opinions, challenging the Democratic Party in much the same way that the Tea Party challenged the Republican Party’s old-school orthodoxy. It would be disheartening if the Occupy movement was subverted to the corporatist political goals of the national Democratic Party just as the Tea Party’s passion has been channeled into serving the corporate backers of today’s G.O.P. The Occupy movement itself has been a response to the outrageous level of corporate control of politics. Whatever political goals the movement aims to achieve, it must maintain its independence from traditional political forces to preserve its vitality.
Every Georgetown student who values his or her status as a citizen in a country which prides itself primarily on its democratic freedoms can now put those freedoms to use. At a school so focused on government and politics, this ought to remind us why we enter public service. It is an opportunity to reflect on the political system we have today, and to harness emotion into substantive change.
