Diegoccupy

Diego Rivera's "Frozen Assets" mural has a few parallel statements to that of today’s Occupy movement. Rivera made this mural around 1931 when the United States was experiencing an economic decline. He depicted a massive growth at the expense of a majority of the population. Each part of his mural represented an inequity caused by the wealthy and, to add to the mood of his artistic expression, included a glum color theme.

The Occupy movement was initiated on September 17th, 2011. For a few years our country has experienced an economic decline. While our country's economy has been in crisis, there has been massive growth at the expense of the majority population. For example, gentrification forcing many low income communities out of their neighborhoods due to a sudden rise in rent and or local tax. While landlords make more money on properties, most of the population is no longer housed and less people live in these neighborhoods. Much like Rivera's mural, the issue has been addressed. People from all backgrounds, countries, colors, and creeds flooded Wall Street in protest of this economic equality.

In Rivera's painting there is a warehouse filled with poverty stricken people sleeping in the heart of the area where they once worked. Today many protesters in the occupy movement, even though they aren't housed, are sleeping at the heart of where they once worked. Rivera painted below the poor people in his mural a highly secured bank with only a handful of people waiting to either collect or deposit. Today our Occupy movement reminds us how only a handful of people in our communities hoard money despite the fact that they have enough for a few lifetimes.

The statements made by Rivera's mural and the Occupy movement are often mistaken for opinion. While the way their statements are delivered may be an opinion, I believe there are facts and truth behind their meaning. In times of economic crisis money, work, and welfare are subjects that aren't taken lightly. This makes communicating the issues surrounding these topics difficult. I do not know how long we will be stuck in this situation as a nation but I believe as long as people like Rivera and the Occupy protesters continue making their statements on the problem at hand, some action will take place. Inequality is a civil issue no matter what type it is. Instead of arguing about it, let's do something peaceful and productive about it. Like Rivera and the Occupy movement.

Who Inspires Me

The source of my inspiration is all of my peers. Our school system taught us nothing that would prepare us for a workforce or adulthood. Our parents abandoned us. We live every single day following a system designed to keep us as statistics for someone elses personal gain. While we are treated like livestock, we counter everything that keeps us down. We are everyone you interact with in your every day life. We are your doctors, your teachers, your law enforcement, your hero and your villain. WE ARE EVERYONE. We are the people that are condemned for our achievements. We are those assassinated for solving problems. We are the most misunderstood people on the planet because we don’t have millions of dollars to spend on having a news network brainwasha nation. We are American youth.

What inspires me about the American youth is that we have a grey hat mentality. We never wait for someone else to solve our problems. The common person is too selfish to help anyone these days. Especially a young person struggling to merely exist. As youth we have developed our own system of survival and education. We take ALL matters into our hands because the police and our government has proven itself untrustworthy. What inspires me is our ability to alter and abolish government. What inspires me is seeing a peace and harmony created by the youth. Most of all what inspires me is seeing my peers create the international 99% movement.

I share this inspiration and hive mind with a majority of the world population. While everyone may react differently, ultimately we are aware that something in this world is terribly wrong and we are doing something about it. We will always be condemned by those who fear change but we will see the world conform to the benefit of the people. The Declaration Of Indepandance says, “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”