Thomas Paine's words, written 217 years ago, capture the
core purpose of the Occupy movement.
The movement, at its heart, instructs us to honor one
another and to ensure that government policy and our justice system reflect that
ethic. It asks us to return to our founding principles.
Wealth, Power and Privilege:
Wherever people gather there will be unequal distributions
of wealth, power and privilege. In terms of social policy, people either tend
to side with those who already have these advantages, thus perpetuating the
imbalance, or they wish to lessen the disparity.
There are many philosophical justifications for favoring the
wealthy and powerful. The Gospel of Wealth, Social Darwinism, Manifest Destiny,
God's Will and "trickle-down economics" are but a few of the rationales. All of
these philosophies assert the inherent superiority of those who are wealthy,
powerful and privileged by appropriating God, Destiny, Darwinism or Capitalism
in a profoundly self-serving manner.
These rationalizations are a sign of pathological
narcissism, i.e., the overvaluing of oneself and the undervaluing of others
springing from greed, insecurity, fear and the lust for power. This approach to
life asserts, "I will take what I want, any way I can, and I don't care about
the consequences to others." It
represents the law of the jungle, not the law of a civil, democratic society.
Such philosophies stand in stark contrast to the teachings
of many spiritual traditions, and the dictates of love, compassion and
empathy. They stand in stark
contrast to a mature and developed morality, in which the individual is able to
see beyond his own self-interests and value the rights and well-being of
others.
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