First they ignored them, and that didn’t work. Then they mocked them, and that didn’t work. Then they arrested them, and that didn’t work. The kids in New York and throughout the country who are following their lead, have the most to lose from the rise of the oligarchs. We oldsters can fade away, a bit more impoverished than we expected, but probably allowed our Social Security crumbs, but the kids will be under their thumbs for the rest of their lives, and their kids, if they can afford to have any, will suffer even more. What’s truly inspiring and encouraging, at least so far, is the absence of any generational rancor, so far as I can detect it. The right has often sought to turn the young against the old, trying to convince them that Social Security, Medicare, etc., are a generational con game. That hasn’t taken hold, except with the Dartmouth Review types. These kids know who’s responsible for the rising inequality and the new normal of high unemployment, low wages and worker oppression. It may be too late to wrest the nation from the grip of the oligarchs. Citizens United may truly have been the last nail, but it’s great to see that they’re trying. If they keep it up the Democrats may have no choice but to try to figure out some way to appease them, and when that day comes lets hope they are as demanding as the teabaggers.
I can’t end this without linking to this piece, written by my younger son, who is involved in urging NYU students to leave their classes and hit the streets. As a parent, I’m a bit worried that he’ll be entrapped by New York’s finest, but I ‘m more proud than anxious.
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