Why Civil Disobedience?

Because civil disobedience is the ‘coin’ of the people.  It is one of the only currencies we have.

At the core of the Occupy Wall Street movement is the realization that there is a great imbalance between the very rich, the corporate 1 percent, and the rest of us, the 99 percent.  Big banks and multinational corporations have managed to buy, and now own, our political, economic and media systems.  Both the Democratic and Republican parties are bought and paid for by the money of the corporate elites. These corporate elites control the political discourse surrounding our presidential elections and get to set the agenda. This money over people dynamic dilutes our democracy and compromises the integrity of the electoral process. 

The only way to counter the power of organized money is with the power of organized people

For everyday Americans to break into this bought, sold, and controlled public discourse with the issues and concerns of the 99 percent will require a broad, grassroots campaign of nonviolent action, including civil disobedience, a tradition as American as apple pie. In coordination with our allies, we will initiate a nonviolent civil disobedience campaign, to spend some of the peoples’ political “coinage”, and “buy back” the political discourse bought and paid for by the  economic elites with one of the only “currencies” we have available to us:  our bodies.  

Civil resistance requires personal sacrifice and human equity, and our public witness aims to break the stranglehold that corporate power has over our democracy and redirect the public debate to address the issues and concerns of the 99 percent.  Join us in Des Moines December 26 to January 3 as we occupy the campaign offices of the presidential candidates - including President Barack Obama - and take the power back to the streets where the people live.