Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and Los Angeles are all sites of Occupy Wall Street protestations during the past four weeks. The movement is nothing more than a "class war" if you ask some politicians, since it has included a Millionaire's March past homes of the wealthy, such as News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, and it is targeting those in higher income brackets. But Fox News reported that Pres. Barack Obama says "he understands their frustration."
Unfortunately, America's president is in company with such foreign politicians as Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, who The Globe and Mail says is known world wide for his "strong views" -- including the ones on Occupy Wall Street, which he condemns as "horrible repression." The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's top leader, is also speaking out on behalf of the American movement. But these men are not necessarily the most level-headed foreign representatives to have on board for your cause celebre'.
Chavez, responsible for creating internal strife within his own government in a failed coup to overtake it in 1992, eventually rose to power to become president of his country, serving in that capacity from 1999 to the present. But Chavez has experienced his own people's denouncement of him as a dictator during his reign, as well as endured a coup attempt and protests staged in defiance of him and his policies throughout the years.
He has said he looks upon Fidel Castro as "a father" and has publicly went on record many times against the ills of the United States, as he sees them. Thus his support of Occupy Wall Street might should be viewed more of a concern than a measure of support by Pres. Obama, since Chavez seeks to dismantle governments, not aid them, in his own country.
Likewise, the support of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for American protestors is not without an agenda, with CBS News reporting that the Khameniei's comments of support for the protestors --"It will grow so that it will bring down the capitalists system and the West" -- only followed after it appeared the U.S. would be seeking to gain global support in our effort to ostricize Iran. U.S. officials believe Iran played a role in an assassignation attempt upon the ambassador of Saudi Arabia and that measures need to be taken against the country for that role.
As Occupy Wall Street continues to capture the attention of our nation and foreign politicians, it also serves to remind us that we may be slipping back into a method of negotiation that proved unsuccessful and ill-advised in the past for America. During the '60s America's youth sought to seek national changes through public demonstrations, leading to such catastrophic results as the Kent State shootings.
What has worked this year in foreign lands, where abuse and tyranny have abounded, may not be the best method for use to change policies or circumstances in place in America. And the fact that Hugo Chavez and the Ayatollah Khamenei are saying it is good that this is occurring should tell us so more than anything else.
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