For over a month, Americans across the country have taken to the streets to protest economic inequality and the growing gap between the rich and the poor. Whether it's the thousands occupying Wall Street in New York City or the dozens in other cities from coast to coast, Americans simply have had enough. Many in the media still question the motives behind the protesters making it obvious that they have their blinders on.
Unlike the ultra conservative Tea Party movement, Occupy Wall Street's demands aren't narrowed down to just a few talking points. You could pick some of the main reasons, money in politics and an unfair tax code, but those just simply aren't the only reasons. Radical news outlets like Fox News have demonized the protesters by calling them "hippies" or "anarchists", when the truth is much different. Whether its college students, teachers, firefighters, war veterans or nurses, everyone involved in the Occupy movement has their own personal stories and reasons for being there underneath the umbrella of economic inequality. The Tea Party has been lost in the right-wing delusion that all government is bad, and that the country would be better off with as little to no government as possible. With Occupy Wall Street and it's sister movements, they know that it isn't government that is the problem, but instead the people who are in power in the government who enacted the laws that have led to the economic collapse for the last three decades. While the Tea Party screams "Don't tread on me" the occupiers take a different approach, they want the government to be around, they just want it to work for everyone, not just a select few.
Just like the Tea Party has taken over the Republican party, OWS must set its sights not just on the Democratic party, but independents as well. OWS must learn from the past, however, and not let it repeat itself. The Tea Party might have started out as a grass-roots movement, but has since been bought out by Dick Armey, Freedom Works and others like them to fit the agenda of the Republican party. Unlike the Tea Party, the OWS movement must not let itself be bought out by politicians on the left, but instead just have their voices heard. If the Democrats were smart, they would sympathize with the movement, but not fully jump on board. OWS doesn't need to be the "Liberal Tea Party," they shouldn't "sell out" to the Democrats, but instead they should use each other as friendly allies.
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