Crawling Out From Under My Rock.

Any of you reading this banter may recall that at one point in my life I was a die hard news junky.  From the mid 90's through the 2004 election (when I lost all faith in the  the political system, not to mention seriously questioned the intelligence of the population as a whole) I swore of news of all kind.  I discovered much to my amazement that the old saying "ignorance is bliss" is by far one of the truest sentiments ever put to paper.  So you'll understand why i have been in the total dark when it comes to the events unfolding in New York.  I check my yahoo home page for quirky news, or human interest stories but tend to shy away from the big stuff.  But as is and has been the norm, mainstream media has it's policies regarding movements that are subversive or deemed contrary to the status quo.  Cover it marginally, and only interview the few crazies in the crowds.  You know the ones, faces painted or outlandish costumes spouting off conspiracy dogma in an incomprehensible manner, the camera crews shooting only at the fringe of the demonstration as to not show the true volume of people in attendance.  Giving it an air of a minor extremist fringe of loonies.  Even the anchorperson gives their little sarcastic smirk, and lighthearted guffaws underlining the sense of "silliness of it all"  So it was no surprise when this morning I checked my yahoo news and discovered NO mention of the protest, at all.  Even though yesterday several Unions and student lent their numbers to the growing throng of irate people occupying Wall Street, swelling the crowds into the thousands.
Hmmm.
When I arrived home last night, Angela who has been following it from it's inception, merely assumed I knew what was going on.  She has some online friends involved in the less radical ranks of Anonymous who keep  her updated. So she proceeded to educate me.  After four hours on line watching it all unfold, I was dangerously close to becoming addicted once again!
All I can say is, it's about time.  This movement has been 234 years in the making. Ever since the first organized gathering of a elite group of rich old guys sat down and mapped out how they were going to get out from under the thrones thumb, and start making some serious bank for themselves without having to give the kings his cut and came up with some clever rhetoric and catchy catch phrases to motivate a population of servants to do their bidding.  Out and out lying to the masses, promising pay and a better life.  Has it been good or bad?  I guess it depends on which side of the fence you lean.  But the one truth is we are all responsible for it's victories and it's woes.  We should embrace that.  When you work a solid week, and pay your debts and patronize a local business your helping out.  When you drive an 8 MPG Escalade to a "Earth Day" celebration your not.  When you bring canned goods and clothing to a hurting family you are engaging.  When your joining the throngs in the local Wal-mart spending your income on cheap Chinese crap that will break in a week...not so much. 
Look, I could ramble on (and I do) for some time, but in all seriousness this movement has just begun, and is both exhilarating and scary.  This is not a fringe group of people venting grievances.  They are, at the onset somewhat disorganized but they have a ringer.  Something that most prior protests have lacked.  They are bolstered by the presence of the middle class.  For a long time content to sit in their pleasant suburban households, with their two car garages and job security they now find themselves shoulder to shoulder with the folks that cleaned their homes, mowed their yard and served them burger and fries on the way to the Hampton's for the weekend.  As well as the newly graduated and completely unemployable students.
As they are chanting...
"We are the 99%"
"Expect Us."