On September 17, 2011, people from across the United States of America and the world joined together to protest the injustices blatant in our times that are being perpetuated by economic and political elites within a corrupted social, political, and economic system.
As individuals we rose up against systematic political disenfranchisement and widespread social and economic injustice. We spoke out, resisted, and successfully occupied Wall Street.
Today, we proudly remain in Liberty Square constituting ourselves as a community of autonomous political beings engaged in non-violent civil disobedience and building solidarity based on mutual respect, acceptance, and love.
We have been joined in these efforts by Occupations across the Nation and the globe in a Movement that continues to grow.
It is from these reclaimed grounds that we say to all Americans and to the world:
Enough! How many crises does it take? The time has come for action. We are the 99% and we are acting to reclaim our mortgaged future. Through direct democratic process we have come together as individuals and crafted the following principles of solidarity. These points of unity include but are not limited to:
- Engaging as citizens in direct and transparent participatory democracy;
- Reforming our social and political institutions and processes to achieve true democracy in practice;
- Re-establishing a viable political public sphere;
- Exercising personal and collective responsibility;
- Recognizing the inherent rights of individuals and the influence these have on social interactions;
- Empowering one another against all forms of oppression;
- Redefining and revaluing labor;
- Respecting the sanctity of individual privacy;
- Establishing the principle that education is a human right and a societal responsibility; and
- Endeavoring to practice and support the wide application of open source principles and concepts.
We dare to imagine an alternative social, political, and economic system that offers and ensures greater possibilities of equality and justice.
We will continue to formulate and consolidate the principles of solidarity which unite us and will seek in due time to translate these into viable and practical solutions to the current ills of society in the United States and the wider world.
