Occupy Chicago

Fighting for our freedom, America was founded upon the ideals that every person could become wealthy and make a decent living. Creating something from nothing, millions of our ancestors left everything on their last vestige of hope and traveled to this country for the renowned American Dream.

That dream has become extremely convoluted in the corporate dynamics of gain and greed that make up our current economic and political system.

Sign on Building reads TOPPLE THE PYRAMID

With the imbalance of wealth in our country, the middle class is falling away, comparable to a third world.
People are slaving away to make ends meet, with the mindset that hard work is the greatest virtue of our establishment.
Where is it getting anyone any longer?
With inflation rising, people are losing their homes, jobs and everything they have known. Their attempts to build their “American Dream” have dissipated in our failing economy.

Why in such a recession are major banks making higher profits?

Thousands were gathered yesterday to march through the streets of Downtown Chicago. The destination was a Mortgage Broker’s party that was happening.
Occupy Chicago has occurred daily for a week and a half. As a sister to Occupy Wall Street, it started with 15 people, gaining momentum, there were thousands in attendance.

People of all ages and races were gathered, representing the 99%.
Echoing through the streets
“People over profits.”
“The banks were bailed out, the people were sold out.”
“We are the 99%” was heard.

This country was founded upon the voice and strength of the middle class.

A question that I continually ask is, how can we choose what we are inherently born into?

We can’t

How many of us desire wealth, and how many attain that 1 percentile?

Our system is erroneously flawed. People are given a head start miles in front of another based on class, money and status. As our population rises, the bottom will keep growing, while the wealthy buy their way into the dwindling top.
The upper echelons of society are bred from a young age, given the best opportunities, attending the most prestigious schools and academies.
A topic I will elaborate upon in much more detail further on.

Where does happiness fit in with our worldly system?

Why are we lead to believe satisfaction is contained in accumulation of materials, titles, promotions, and money?

Hope has gone out the window for so many Americans in a competition that is leaving people empty and forsaken.
So many are unhappy in our society, including the uber wealthy.

To the politicians, corporations and system I ask:

Why is there such blatant selfishness masquerading as care for our people?

A friend and I spoke with the police officers as they were surrounding everyone. We expressed to them, we love you, thank you, you are a part of the 99% with us.
They started smiling as they were forcing us all off the streets, it made me feel a bit like a sheeple, at least we got them to smile ; )

I spoke with a local news reporter, asking her why the occupations have taken so long to be broadcasted, while something like the Casey Anthony story is blasted on National News?

Are the corporations behind what is spun much more than we think?

This will catch wind of being a movement for all the people and will be unstoppable.

She pondered a moment, smiled and told me that was an extremely valid point. Then added
“Unlike national news, the local news does it’s best to catch wind of what is truly happening, in an unbiased way.”

A summary of the General Assembly’s statement:
The Occupation is not in line with any political party. Far beyond that, it is about being human with the people of the world uniting. It is our world, our time to take it back for all of us.
There was a declaration that was read, taken from Occupy Wall Street. It addressed the economic imbalances and inequalities of our corporate and political system.

Here is a copy of the Wall Street version, there were some additions for Occupy Chicago.

At the end there was a chance for everyone in attendance to come up and speak their truth. It was stated that this is about the people, spreading to cities worldwide.

I left before it was finished, with a feeling of hope.
This is a pivotal time in the history of Humanity, a time when we can all come together to create a real change for the future of our race. I am happy to be a part of this.

With love,

the revolution has begun.

xo,

Nicole

Subordination to Attainment

“Capitalism being a system that allows you to go higher and higher up a potential pyramid. The deal is it comes with fewer and fewer safety nets.

By definition

The more stratified a society is, the fewer people you have as peers.

The fewer people for whom you have symmetrical reciprocal relationships

and instead all you have are differing spots and endless Hierarchies.

A world in which you have a fewer reciprocal partners is a world with a lot less Altruism.”

~Dr. Robert Sapolsky

MORE MONEY = HIGHER STATUS = CONTROL

For thousands of years we have been within an archaic system that supports hierarchies, social elitism and control.

Money and the lengths corporations, countries, religions and individuals go to obtain it, is at times appalling. We are desensitized to these lengths by a norm living in a

Dog eat dog world.

This has become a competition with one another for a higher standard of living, in the attempts to attain more within this competition, we ultimately lose sight of altruism and humanity

While it appears we have come far from cast systems, there are still hierarchies of superiority and inferiority that create separation and distinction between classes.
While more subtle, these structures are extremely evident in our culture.

Whether it be the brand of clothing one wears, to the type of car one drives, to the house one lives in, to the people one surrounds themselves with.
We brand one another and ourselves where we feel we fit in this hierarchical structure.

As humans, our need for love and acceptance is what drives us, and what is more conditioned to be accepted and sought after than

money?

the driving factor in our world has become attainment of a better life, and a better life is dictated by having more money.

Otherwise known as

climbing the social ladder.

With inflation rising, the standard of living keeps getting higher, and every human is relentlessly climbing.
or running,

in a circle,

like a hamster wheel……

This circle essentially becomes working to live,
living to work,
in what may or may not be one’s truth or dream.

Within our “freedom”, we all give our freedom away to money, attainment and a system that supports it.
Subordination to attainment, feeling that within attainment true satisfaction is met. Much more than consumerism this is a societal condition that is an absolute paradox, how can one truly live in this system freely?

With the middle class falling away, there is a bottom and top to this hierarchy.
The bottom much larger than the top.
At the bottom is poverty, a class that has been created around lack, one has to fight to survive, this class is looked down upon.
While at the top social elitism is looked up to, with a measure of success being gauged by how much money one makes.

Within our system, a societal perception is that people with money are superior.
Is that because these people have more of an ability to do what they desire, surrounded by luxury and educated in higher establishments?

Is that what everyone is climbing towards?

We are not given a choice about where, who or which hierarchy we are born into, in order to feel successful, why should we have to be continuously climbing?

What about one’s level of happiness and sense of purpose, why isn’t that a gauge for success, regardless of the amount of money that is made?

I want to pose these questions and state;

I don’t know what the answers are, for each person they will vary.

I just like to question,

EVERYTHING.

You may ask the question, why question everything?
I say to you, why not?

Progressive? yes…..
Progress is not made by being stagnant in any idea or mindset.

The government doesn’t have your truth, politics don’t have your truth, religion doesn’t have your truth, the media doesn’t have your truth, school doesn’t have your truth, your parents don’t have your truth.

Only you do, and only you know it.

It may be a collection of other truths, or it may be wholly unique, whatever it may be, honor it, listen to it

be it.

xo,

Nicole