Occupation

Reflecting today on the "Occupy" movement that has caught fire over recent weeks. One month ago today, a protest began with 2,000 people that has now become the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. I encourage you all to go to both (www.occupywallst.org and www.occupytogether.org) to stay on top of the "progress" that is being made. Whether it's Wall Stree or Atlanta or St. Louis or any of the other venues where Places have been "occupied", I find myself wondering at this moment in time about the concept and its potential to empower and enable change. Movements have a life of their own. Some become so popular and do so much good that they become institutionalized (thinking here of the Methodist movement). Is the "Occupy" movement truly the reawakening that we've been hoping for in a culture that has been narcotized into adolescent and ego-centric thought and action for so many decades, or is it just another anomaly of the information age that springs to life via Twitter, etc., and has no infrastructure to carry forward (also no meaningful leadership). Forty years ago (or a little more) there were protests and sit-ins declaring the Vietnam War to be wrong. At the same time the Civil Rights movement was occurring and there was a wave of civil disobedience that spread across the country. The pressure exerted by these movements brought about social change. Most of the actions were non-violent in nature, and most "leaders" were focused on change not on their own needs. I'm musing to myself how the "Occupy" movement might be able to truly catch fire and to bring into the public discourse some of the social injustice that is so rampant in our world today. They have a tag line "We are the 99%" in reference to the wealthiest 1% who "control" the country and its policies. While the banking industry certainly has its share of greed issues; and the governmental policies regulating them have been poorly thought out, should they be the only groups occupied? What about a healthcare industry that is beholden to the insurance corporations? What about a subsidized food industry that doesn't grow the things we need to be healthy and to promote better nutrition? What about a new industry that "dummies down" news and has lost its mandate to really investigate and report news instead of gossip and entertainment? What about the oil and gas industry in cahoots with the automobile manufacturers to hold back innovation and to continue to rape the Earth of natural and irreplaceable resources? And on, and on, and on... What's my point? My point is that as long as we point the finger at someone else (even if they deserve it) we are practicing dualistic thinking (I vs. It, We vs. They, Us vs. Them). Dualism leads to judgement and that leads to demonization (you're opinion is not just wrong, it is evil). Richard Rohr in his book "Falling Upward" puts it this way, "Sualistic thinking is the well-practiced pattern of knowing most things by comparison. And for some reason, once you compare or label things (that is, judge), you almost always conclude that one is good and the other is less good or even bad." He goes on to talk about the "normal sequencing of the dualistic mind: it compares, it competes, it conspires, it condemns, it cancels out any contrary evidence, and then it crucifies with impunity." We can not move forward to real societal change until we also point the finger at ourselves and our overindulgent lifestyles and begin to change our views as well. Can spirituality once again play an important role in this change - because as Father Rohr points out, the unified vision of G-d is the only vision that can heal division. Food for thought - may it occupy your mind and your discernment this week. Peace for the journey, Dan