Occupy Worldwide 2012: Real Hope for Global Change

Obama: From “Hope and Change” to I am not as bad as the other guy

In 2008, then candidate Barack Obama got elected on the promises of “hope and change”. Voters were excited in America, but the wind of hope and enthusiasm was not limited to the border of the United States. After his speech in Cairo, Egypt, and the wide sale of his best seller book all across Europe, President Obama was wrongly perceived as a “providential” leader of the dominant world power which could reverse America’s imperialist policies and lead a peaceful revolution based on consensus, ethical concerns and global dialogue. Needless to say, most of these grandiose promises of implementing policies with the needs and interests of the people in mind have not been fulfilled.

America’s war mongering policies are still going on worldwide: In Iraq-despite the pseudo made for TV “end of the war” while leaving thousands of mercenaries on the ground, in Afghanistan the war continues with no end in sight and has extended to Pakistan. In a grim irony, President Obama, the Nobel peace prize recipient of 2009, has elected the drone as his weapon of choice to kill wherever and whomever the US military sees as a legitimate target. The laundry list of what President Obama has not accomplished is extensive: Guantanamo is still open, the banksters of Wall Street are still running the show, the poor and the middle-class are getting hammered by the job and housing situation.

Many erroneously believed that President Obama was a providential man. It predictably turned out that he was just a “company man” willing and eager to maintain a system based on inequality and exploitation of the many by the few. A shrewd man of the status quo working on behalf and to preserve a broken system. Most should recognized now that President Obama is just the current CEO/ Spokesperson of America Empire Inc, working in conjunction and for the benefit of the mega corporate entities running world affairs. However, it is very likely that President Obama will be re-elected for another term in 2012. The so called “progressives” will end up voting for him, even if they do it with little enthusiasm, just because they fear that any alternative from the GOP would be even worse than the current administration.

For the rest of the world, the result of the 2012 US elections doesn’t really matter. No matter who gets elected they will pursue the same imperialist policies worldwide, the same “laissez faire” with the king makers of global finance, the same one sided policy in the Middle-East grossly tilted in favor of Israel’s interests.

Occupy Worldwide 2012: The Only Hope for the 99 percent

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict that the real story to track in 2012 will be the expansion of the Occupy movement. It is growing exponentially globally, and as long as the different “chapters” of the movement coordinate their actions, the momentum of it could reach a critical mass. Common goals and platforms are already defined, and key benchmarks are in the works. On January 17, it will be Occupy Congress in Washington DC. Actions are occurring across Europe, including in Russia. Another key global benchmark will be May 1, 2012. But to stay true to itself, the Occupy movement must remain “horizontal”, without a clearly defined leadership.

This is the big challenge for Occupy. Can a movement of such a global scope remain a real grassroots movement without getting into traditional ego and power play? Some will definitely try to use the political energy of Occupy for their own political agenda, but if Occupy activists worldwide are aware of this risk they could prevail as long as some within the movement do not try to impose their will or agenda for personal gain. Occupy is about serving the interests of the 99 percent, if this key principle is not forgotten or perverted along the way, it could be the best hope humanity ever had for a better world where everyone is not a slave to the global elite, but instead master of their own destiny.

Editor’s Note: All photographs by Steve O’s.