Social Justice | Chromographics Institute

by Stephen Lendman

Ordinary people across the Middle East, Europe and America are fed up and want long denied social justice.

Londoners are enraged about growing social pain, government in the pockets of monied interests, and endless imperial wars they want ended – NOW!

On October 8, The London Guardian headlined, “Stop the War Coalition demo in London marks 10th anniversary of Afghan war,” saying:

Protesters read aloud names of fallen UK soldiers, sacrificing their lives for war profiteer gains.

Masses “attended the Stop the War Coalition demonstration in Trafalgar Square, led by a former soldier who refused to fight and a 106-year-old peace activist.”

Court martialed and jailed for refusing to serve, Lance Corporal Joe Glenton read a letter to Prime Minister Cameron signed by other former US and UK servicemen, saying:

“We are making this statement in defiance of the propaganda and lies in support of the so-called war on terror for the last 10 years.”

“We know these wars have nothing to do with democracy or security or women’s rights or peace or stability. They are fought for money and power and nothing else.”

Precisely so! Wars are never for liberation, humanitarian reasons or democratic values. They’re for imperial dominance, colonization, resource and people exploitation, and war profiteering enrichment, no matter the body count to achieve them.

…

Spreading US Protests

At the same time, Occupy Wall protests spread in weeks to nearly 1,000 cities and towns nationwide. They’re the first national uprising in decades. Nothing like them has been seen since earlier civil rights and anti-Vietnam war activism.

Global justice demonstrations since Seattle 1999 lasted several days then ebbed. Today’s rage against the system shows promise provided spirited energy doesn’t wane, leaders emerge to sustain it, and focus concentrates on what matters most – money power in private hands to make more of it at the public’s expense.

Wall Street controlled money can’t co-exist with democracy and social justice. It bribes political Washington to get what it wants. It buys members of America’s duopoly like toothpaste.

Americans have the best democracy money can buy. Addressing Freedom Plaza activists on October 8, Ralph Nader said:

“It is time for citizens to push their elected officials to break the corporate stranglehold on our country.”

“Congress has done more to bail out Wall Street than Main Street.” Infinitely more, in fact, with sustained trillions of dollars of handouts. At least, $16.1 trillion but very likely much more unreported.

“Wall Street crooks have avoided penalties and prosecution and continued to receive bonuses and excessive compensation while pensions and saving have been looted.”

Record corporate profits belie a growing Main Street Depression. Unemployment is over double official numbers. America’s worst ever housing crisis continues with no end in sight. Millions lost homes. Millions more will before it ends. Washington is doing nothing to help or create jobs.

“(I)income inequality in this country” is unprecedented. (T)he top 1% of the population has financial wealth equal to the combined financial wealth of the bottom 95% of the people.”

Protests across America are “way overdue (to make) the president and Congress listen.”

They hear, but they don’t care. They know, but they do nothing. They talk, but they don’t act.

Business as usual won’t end until people power replaces fossilized duopoly power with progressive government of, by and for the people.

Its main focus must be on returning money power to public hands where it belongs. Without it other objectives will fail, including ones Occupy Wall Street (OWS) adopted on September 29.

They stress:

World uprising against corrupt thieves

07.10.2011

Thousands of Americans occupied Wall Street without violence – an epicenter of global financial power and corruption. They are the last rays of light in a new movement for social justice that is spreading rapidly around the world: from Madrid to Jerusalem, and 146 other cities, with others joining all the time. But they need our help to triumph.

The families of workers are footing the bill for a financial crisis caused by corrupt elites. The protesters are demanding a real democracy, social justice and fighting corruption. But they are under strong pressure from the authorities and some media are portraying them as extremists. If millions of us around the world support them, we will increase our determination and show the leaders and the media that the protests are part of a massive movement for change.

This could be our year, our 1968 of this century, but to succeed it must be a movement of all citizens of all social classes. Click to join the campaign for real democracy. A giant counter will be erected in the center of the occupation in New York and when one of us signs the petition, it will be shown and relayed live on the petition page:

http://www.avaaz.org/po/the_world_vs_wall_st/?vl

The worldwide wave of protests is the latest chapter in the history of this year’s global power of the people. In Egypt, people went to Tahrir Square and overthrew their dictator. In India, the fast of a man brought millions onto the streets and the government was forced to give in – winning a real action to end

For months, Greek citizens protested without a break against unfair cuts in public spending. In Spain, thousands of “angry” protesters defied the ban on pre-election demonstrations and set up a protest camp in Sun Square to speak out against political corruption and government manipulation of the economic crisis. And this summer, Israelis built “tent cities” to protest against rising housing costs and for social justice.

These national issues are linked by a narrative of global determination to end the connivance of the elites and corrupt politicians – that in many countries helped cause a damaging financial crisis and now they want the families of workers to pay the bill. The mass movement that is responding to this can only ensure that the onus of the recession does not fall on the most vulnerable, but it can also help to improve the balance of power between democracy and corruption.

In each revolt, from Cairo to New York, the request for a responsible government that serves the people is clear and our global community has supported the power of the people around the world, wherever it has appeared. The time when politicians were in the hands of the few corrupt is ending and, instead, we are building real democracies, of, by and for the people.

Translated from the Portuguese version by:

Lisa Karpova

Pravda.Ru