Why I Don’t Complain (My advice to the Occupy Protestors)

Really this picture speaks for itself, but I thought I'd add my 2 cents.

My mom loves documentaries. Her view is that documentaries are sometimes better than movies because they show what “it” really is; the big “it” meaning life. Of course since it is her television and I just so happen to live in her house, I have to watch everything she does. Fortunately, for us, the apple (being me) doesn’t fall far from the tree, so even though I can’t watch the game (Go Celtics!!), we still agree more on what to watch than we do disagree on what to watch. So one night my mother and I were watching a documentary on African families and how in nearly all the regions of the country civil war, poverty, racism, disease, and politics have basically flipped the country on its head and ripped it in two, and guess who is right in the middle of it all…the families. After watching the documentary, I felt so ashamed and humble. I felt ashamed because I realized that I have everything I need and want; I have rights as a human being, I have food, shelter, an education, a bed, shoes, clothes, a family that loves me, I can see, hear, speak, walk… Honestly I could go on and on all day, but after realizing that I have more than most, I felt so humbled at the same time, because I also realized that I am blessed and I have no reason to complain. So, even though the economy isn’t what I want it to be, I can still say that no matter how hard my life may be, there is always someone who has it harder.

As I sit in my room, figuring out what I was going to do for the rest of the night, I hear the intro music to the evening news. The BIG story: Occupy Wall Street protestors and their battles with the police. I stopped what I was doing and I went back into the family room to see what the reporter was talking about. My mom, a firm believer that the Main stream media isn’t worth a good 5 minutes of your time, turned the TV off and said, “You know what, I am getting so sick and tired of all the occupying mess. They need to go home! They are not accomplishing anything at this point.”   I have to agree. Look at what we have. We have the best of a lot of things. America is fortunate. True, the government needs change, but I have never seen a construction team build a house from the top down, instead they start by building a new foundation. The American people are a foundation. We need to build a new foundation before we can finish the roof. So, why are we protesting big government, when we can’t even govern ourselves correctly? Grant it, I am no saint, but I believe in the human capacity to change. We all have the capacity to change, but not everyone has the ability to choose to…

But to be politically correct, (making sure I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings) here is my advice to the protestors, be unpredictable! Instead of Occupying Wall Street, everyday all day, occupy a piece of paper and a pen, occupy a library, and most importantly, occupy a logical mindset. Keep the “1%” on their toes. Be unexpected, because the police expect you, as protestors, to act wild and they also expect to mace you in the face too. So instead of expressing only one aspect of our first amendment rights (protesting), we should use all of our avenues to avoid both frustration by the police and protestors and avoid the notion that the “elite” have more “common sense” than the American people do.  But, remember that a pen will always be mightier than a sword. Fight the quiet fight, find the loop holes, and like Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  Be the best you, you can be and I can guarantee that real change will come.

Now I am not no Bible-totein’, finger-wagin’, super -holy Christian, but I believe that this verse is the answer to all of our problems.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV) “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

...But hey, you don't have to listen to me. I'm just one person trying to get you thinking one penny at a time.