Occupy Everywhere

I can't believe that this occupy movement has me thinking as I did 40 years ago. A time I believed that if we were large enough, loud enough, and had a message that was clear and made sense, we could actually make a difference in the world, or at the very least, here in the United States.
Back then, in the late 60's we were labeled hippies, described as drug addicts that had group sex all the time, we were told that what we were doing was communistic. What did we want 40 years ago? Pretty much the same as today's protests. We wanted freedom, we wanted jobs, we wanted equal rights for all, hell, we were being drafted to go die in Viet Nam as soon as we reached the ripe adult age of 18, we wanted the right at that age to vote. We wanted the right at that age to have a few beers. There were other matters that are still being debated today with the current generation that is suffering.
So I guess in the end, it won't change anything. Of all those things that I protested for in my younger life, the things that are still here is that at age 18, one can vote. Yet that right is in jeopardy by the republicans that want to restrict voting to those that will vote for them by insisting there should be a photo ID as proof of who you are. This limits the ability of the poor to vote, this limits college aged student that are struggling, this hurts America's liberties.
Today I am encouraged. It has been quite a while since I have seen those in power cringe at a group of people in fear. What are they afraid of? Beats me. They have the money, they have the power, they have the slaves in congress. OH! My!, maybe they see their way of life threatened? Maybe they will have to pay more taxes or hire more people here. Is that really such a bad thing? If I was a banker, or a hedgefund operator, I am certain that I would be nervous as well. Not because I might have to spend some of my billions on creating jobs or even paying more in taxes (those are easy and painless), I would be very afraid that this group of protesters will be successful and that I will not only be brought to justice for my crimes and greed, but that I may become one of them after jail, forfeiture, fines, loss of my humble mansions because of what I did.
Oddly, this all became a reality after watching a segment on TV that had a graph showing the gap between the average American and the top money-keepers. It became very clear that since the 'Bush Tax Cuts', less regulation, offshore business, there is no longer a need for those big business owners to create jobs. Why should they? They only did it to pay less taxes, now that they can keep their money, they have no use for employees as a write-off against their earnings. Simple math.