Ninety-nine to one baby, one in 99, no one here gets out alive. No, this isn’t the new age version of a Jim Morrison song, this is the recent perception of a growing portion of the population who are following the “Occupy” movement. It seems that 99 per cent of the population is looking to blame one per cent of the population for all of their troubles. Are the 99 per cent a separate entity from the one per cent? What are these troubles? When was the last time that the 99 per cent went a day without food and water? How did these people get to Wall Street or Baker Street to “occupy” them? Did they walk, with shoes that they hand crafted out of local materials? Did they feed themselves with food that they grew themselves on a sustainable farm? Where did the materials for their tents come from and how did these materials get to Nelson, or New York? Is the issue the greed of the one per cent or the greed of the 99 per cent who paid the way for the one per cent to get to the top of this pyramid scheme? Is it about greed or dependency and denial?
It seems like the 99 per cent is 99 per cent dependent on the one per cent for the greedy lifestyles that they want to uphold. The 99 per cent is demanding a luxurious lifestyle full of affordable conveniences and the one per cent is supplying them with the products and services that they demand. Nobody wants to see wars fought over oil; everybody demands affordable oil products. When the 99 per cent signed their names on the dotted lines for unrealistic mortgages, in which the one per cent put up 100 per cent of the money for, did the 99 per cent assume they now owned 100 per cent of these houses? What was the intent of the 99 per cent who invested their money with the one per cent? Was it not to make more money so that they could be extra wealthy? Was it wise and realistic, or greedy and naive of the 99 per cent to buy into the pyramid scheme in which the one per cent held the top position?
It is the greed and dependency of the 99 per cent which has allowed the one per cent to achieve such wealth and power. Occupy your own yard, or a friend’s yard, with fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and maybe even some livestock. Occupy the schools with the knowledge to live a self-sustained lifestyle instead of greedy bargaining. Occupy your mind with appreciation for less and the drive to be self-sufficient instead of blame and denial. Occupy your shoes with feet that walk instead of occupying your car. Occupy your mouth with local produce instead of hypocrisy. Now that you have done your duty by occupying a space on the ballot box, maybe it is time to occupy your conscience with attention to who you are supporting when you spend your money. I admit my part in the formation of the society I live in. I am as guilty as the other 99 people. Are you pleading ignorance or are you changing the way that you live?
Like Aaron Freeman wrote: “If you could save yourself, you’d save us all.”
“Remember, we’re all in this together” - Red Green
Noel Ballard
Nakusp, B.C.