A little more than a year ago, Occupy Wall Street erupted. The movement motivated and inspired hundreds of thousands of Americans to stand up and speak out against the injustices imposed upon the 99% for the profit of the 1%. Demonstrators felt an overwhelming and unavoidable sense of change and possibility. Why, then, has the Occupy Movement faded away? Why has no substantial change been realized? What went wrong?

The Conservative Tea Party Movement, in stark contrast, has remained visible and active since the Movement’s inception in February of 2009. The Tea Party also recognizes governmental and societal issues, but through a fundamentally different lens than the Occupy Movement.

Tea Party members call for the abolition of government “hand-outs” given to “undeserving” citizens. These activists do not want a universal reduction in governmental programs, however, only those they view as unjust and destructive to the middle class. Policies such as Social Security, for example, are justified because “hardworking” Americans invest part of their incomes into the program. These “contributory” programs are beneficial for “responsible” Americans.

So-called “non-contributory” programs such as Food Stamps are, however, deemed unjust by the Tea Party. Members advocate against taxpayer money being spent on social welfare policies. The generally older (more than half of all members are over the age of 46), predominately white males who make up the Tea Party view themselves as “hardworking” and “responsible” citizens victimized by the government’s policies aiding their “lazy” and “irresponsible” counterparts.

While the Tea Party sees the government as oppressing the masses through unjustified social welfare programs, the Occupy Movement views the government as oppressing the masses through overtly supporting the top 1% of income earners at the expense of the other 99%.

The Occupiers recognize the more fundamental flaw within our current political and economic systems. Wealthy businessmen who promote destructive practices such as exporting jobs to cheap labor overseas and exploiting public lands and resources on American soils, are not held accountable by the government. Instead, they are given tax breaks and subsidies.

The Tea Party calls for a much less dramatic adjustment within the current system whereas the Occupy Movement calls for a drastic and more fundamental change that will effectively alter existing economic and political structures. This is where the Occupy Movement loses widespread support. The radical underlying principles of the Occupy Movement have successfully alienated the average American.

In order to alleviate the problems many Americans (including Tea Party members) have recognized, however, real change needs to be enacted.The elimination of social welfare proposed by the Tea Party is off base and overtly simplistic of the complex socio-economic issues we currently face. If real progress is to be made, a comprehensive restructuring of entrenched policies and power structures needs to be realized.

The case involving “Bidder 70” (Tim DeChristopher) clearly depicts the unethical and dangerous governmental policies commonplace within our political system.

In the spring of 2008, University of Utah economics student, Tim DeChristopher, exposed an illegal auction of public lands (endorsed by the “lame duck” Bush administration) through a selfless act of civil disobedience. This auction did not follow environmental regulation and broke several federal codes. In other words, it was an illegal sale of public lands. DeChristopher halted the unlawful proceedings when he posed as a bidder.

DeChristopher’s actions successfully froze the illegitimate sale of public lands bordering the majestic Canyonlands National Park. This land would have otherwise been sold to oil and gas companies. The federal government consciously made the decision to sacrifice environmental and human health in order to secure Big Oil some big bucks. Not to mention, oil and gas exploitation is adverse to not only human and environmental health, but also to our economic wellbeing. Fossil fuels are, no pun intended, ancient. Renewable energy is the future. China and Germany are actively creating thousands of jobs through clean energy. These are jobs that America (the 99%) desperately needs. But, instead of making decisions that will greatly benefit the people, the government chooses to place big business ahead of all others.

A significant change is, therefore, extremely necessary. DeChristopher’s act of civil disobedience made a huge impact by disrupting the auction and consequentially raising public awareness. But, he was sentenced to two years in prison (despite the fact that his actions ultimately prevented an illegal proceeding) and no major government-Big Oil ties have been cut. The flawed system allowing this illegal auction remains unchanged. The Occupy Movement (emerging three years after DeChristopher’s actions) also failed to invoke any notable governmental policy alterations. Current radical social movements are proving to be largely ineffective.

Perhaps we should refocus our attention. While acts of civil disobedience and protests serve the vital purpose of raising public attention and forcing issues onto the media’s radar, they are not enough to invoke concrete change. More needs to be done. We need to focus our efforts on building renewable energy systems within our communities, purchasing public lands so Big Oil can’t, growing and eating locally grown organic foods, fighting unlawful government and business proceedings in court, and electing officials who will change flawed policies. These actions will place great pressure on the existing system – forcing an adjustment in behavior and structure without alienating politically Moderate and Conservative citizens. If we start living and establishing the change we wish to see, real progress will be achieved.

See an exclusive showing of the critically acclaimed documentary, Bidder 70, on November 1st at 7:00 PM in the Heller Multicultural Lounge in MLK (join the Facebook event for more details). Watch the trailer below:

Watch. Learn. Grow. Act.

EcoMovie

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