OCTOBER 14, 2011: AN HISTORICAL TURNING POINT?

Create October 14, 2011 as a National Holiday.

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to each Signer's appropriate US Senators and Representatives.

Simply not being physically removed, as had been publicly announced from the Wall Street neighborhood the morning of October 14, 2011, constitutes a "moral victory" for the 99% For one thing, it demonstrates to potential but not yet active 99ers that we do have our own brand of power because we ARE a huge majority. Further, many, many of us are angry and sick (literally!) and tired of this disparity. This demonstration’s huge success at taking on the symbolic AND real and long-time capital capitol. If we can organize and mobilize, then we can contribute to helping lead this great nation back to the freedoms and opportunities on which it was founded.

In other words, I believe that this event can become an historical turning point toward a new relationship among the people of the United States Of America: both among themselves, and with their government. Further, the United States of America could provide, to the whole world, a great example of successful and peaceful realignment of a country's social-economic structure -- perhaps eventually among all countries, since the earth seems so rapidly growing smaller.

I find such idealistic imaginative thinking not so very hard to do. After all, the dividing line, traceable most of all to income, has been more or less taken for granted since long before written history in the Western World: the haves vs. have-nots; leaders vs. followers; the governing vs. the governed, the rich v. the poor. "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer!" Numerous people (all of them women) have been credited with first expressing "I've been rich and I've been poor; rich is better!"

Every major social change requires many particular confrontations of force if it is to bring "hearts and minds" willingly into acting as new laws require. In the USA, I think of how long since women won the struggle to vote; yet they still live with rankings inferior to men in almost every category, starting with wages and positions of leadership in the military-industrial complex! More recently the Civil Rights laws in the mid-60's have left many African Americans still in the "growing poorer" group. Most recently, the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, "Bi-" and Transvestite) have only in recent years been making large steps in organizing for their individual human rights. So the struggle to move beyond DADT (Don't Ask; Don't Tell) in the military is "won" but each minority person will still be facing their personal struggle to obtain those rights. And the right of all persons to marry as they will faces resistance, state by state, and even community by community!

So, then, this petition is written with serious awareness that any significant changes in a society take a lot of time, work, commitment, and cooperation. Beyond commemorating past events, having the holiday would itself function to remind people of the positive changes they have been working to bring about. Thus, it would serve both to inspire and also to guide people to rededicate themselves to that cause.

The creation of a holiday observance would serve far beyond being an honor to the physical courage, hardship, and commitment endured by the many demonstrators in many communities, even world-wide! And in addition, hundreds of thousands of people expressed themselves by signing various petitions, and by writing and sending letters by USPS, and phone lines were jammed in a number of officials' offices. I think of the holiday more as a reminder of the struggle and sacrifice by those who have gone before, and thus a reminder to all not to let their energy fade. It also could serve to inspire all people in whatever struggle for freedom they already have been involved, such as the above mentioned ongoing endeavors for the rights for particular minorities.

This petition, then, involves a gigantic, historical topic. I am aware of the complexity that involves every area of life -- certainly including flora and fauna, and, indeed, the earth itself and its resources. And now even our dealings with space, with our solar system in the universe. Already one may well tremble at the idea of earthlings polluting space with garbage!

So, dear friends, if you have read this far then this topic involves your serious consideration. I hope that the petition will serve to involve many people's thinking. There remains for all of us, a lot of thinking to do -- as well as work!

Thank you.
Bruce Combs

[Your name]