Insights · November 18th, 2011
Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone has an interesting analysis of Occupy Wall Street in terms of how the larger movement relates to the future. The key quote for me…
We’re all born wanting the freedom to imagine a better and more beautiful future. But modern America has become a place so drearily confining and predictable that it chokes the life out of that built-in desire. Everything from our pop culture to our economy to our politics feels oppressive and unresponsive. We see 10 million commercials a day, and every day is the same life-killing chase for money, money and more money; the only thing that changes from minute to minute is that every tick of the clock brings with it another space-age vendor dreaming up some new way to try to sell you something or reach into your pocket.
To me, freedom has always meant being able to participate in the creation of your own future. When the system in which you live seems to prevent that, eventually people rebel. That is the story of history to a large degree. I am sure that many people are surprised to find that so many in the U.S. are feeling less able to participate in their own future in a positive way, even though the evidence has been growing for some thirty years. Thus we are in this early stage rebellion. I don’t know how far it will go. We do know that an astonishing shift in the national conversation about economy, employment, debt and deficits, greed, shared responsibility and opportunity has already occurred in just two short months. And I think we can see that 2012 is going to be one hot year. Stand by.
Glen Hiemstra is Founder of Futurist.com. To reach Glen contact Futurist.com.
