My Vision

Skip ahead if you'd like, the beginning is my analysis of where we are and why we must act.

The american life has great potential but has been squandered. The reason behind this is unclear but the flaws in our socioeconomic system can be broadly described as a misconception of value. In order to safeguard our collective well being, in the turbulent future we all foresee, we must replace this system.

American culture is powerful, it has spread throughout the world and has great appeal to many. Whether or not this is a good thing is irrelevant, it is the way things are. This social liberalism combined with a pseudo free market allows for great wealth accumulation yet has great risks which are now becoming readily apparent to the masses, particularly the networked youth. As problems caused by the American way threaten the human species with extinction if left unchecked`, self preservation demands that we examine our society and make necessary changes in our way of life.

The current governmental power structure, dominated by the American military, stands between the people and a sustainable, peaceful, and fruitful way of life. This opposition happens directly through war and indirectly through militarized police who enforce oppressive taxation schemes. The American Military State is the most powerful destructive force mankind has ever seen, it would be foolish to oppose the system they protect directly.

One belief is that the governmental system can be changed from within. This is incorrect, the corporatist system is rigged so that the same outcome always prevails. Our politicians bicker over talking points and trivial issues while roads crumble, millions go without work, and millions remain unjustly imprisoned. The winner is almost always the one with the most money thus the common person has no voice in our supposedly republican government.

Another option is civil disobedience or organized protest. This will also ultimately fail as, assuming the peaceful movements are not beaten into submission, the American public at large is either too ignorant or too apathetic to notice or understand the new world bondage they are under. The only way this method of change can succeed is if it reaches critical mass, several million must actively back the movement including a large percentage of the police or military. This is unlikely as government jobs are are form of security in tough economic times and it is easier to simply overlook underlying ethical concerns.

I believe I have an alternative to enact real change, instead of overthrowing or reforming the current socioeconomic order we must displace it by one of our own creation. Fortunately we have a unique opportunity for this in Boulder and in the United States. We, as human beings, have the right to freedom of expression and must use it in a deliberate way if we wish to enact change. The purpose of the Constitution was to place limits on government, luckily some of those limits are still enforced though we must act quickly before they are lost to us.

We must use our right to political speech to set up a tent-city. I believe that if we create a community based on the principles of participatory government, sustainable living, and humanitarianism, we can transform the Boulder community and protect it from the corrupting powers which are dominating our world. However we structure our government it will have democratic rule, that is, rule by the people for the people. Personally I believe true democracy to be tyranny waiting to happen but this is something to work out within our future community.

My Vision
The parks in downtown Boulder have a smattering of semi-permanent residents living in tents but it fills to the brim on the weekends. This environment will be friendly to artists, painters, sculptors, musicians, the works, we will have an artist enclave that people from miles around will come to see and participate in. When the bi-monthly farmers market sets up shop we stock up on fresh produce, trading labor on the farms for vegetables or discounted prices. We support and work with local businesses to handle our needs such as shelter and sanitation. Electricity is not in high demand, we have solar panels supplemented by people riding stationary bikes which power generators. Our community will be welcoming, caring, and most importantly fun. I have an image in my head of a band playing near a fire, an upright bass, drummers, guitar players, and a fiddle or two fill the night with merriment.

In this way we provide an alternative to the materialist lifestyle we are all growing tired of. Simply by example we show that a better way of life is not only possible, but practical. As the Boulder community sees us flourish we grow in influence until we can make changes for the whole of Boulder county. If we can create our own currency (I believe this to be a necessity) then we can free ourselves from the unstable and intentionally manipulated dollar and subsequently from the banks. As we grow we will slowly but surely displace the failing system that has grown up around us. The artists who flock to us will bring us attention and people will start to notice how we govern ourselves. We will, in this way, reshape our collective consciousness simply by creating a better way to live.

I do not pretend that this is exactly how things will work, I do not know how we will structure our government or how our economy will function. I do know that we have the resources to try. We have enough tents and we have many ways to get food. We have enough people willing to camp and we have a solid start on the legal relations we will need. We may be able to get a permit but whether or not we actually get one we have the precedent from the Occupy movement to camp.

I believe the best place to start our encampment would be on the lawn of the courthouse on Pearl St. This sends a strong political message, contributes to the atmosphere of Pearl St, and provides us great access to foot traffic where we can discuss with everyday people why we are camping.

I stand wholeheartedly behind this movement and am fully dedicated to camping sometime in the next few months. As previously discussed, a good day to start would be January 25th as it coincides with the Tahrir Square uprising and is one week after classes begin. This gives us time to build publicity, organize logistics, and gather our legal presence before we begin camping.

I say all of this because I believe in it and we must have a discussion about how dedicated we are to changing the world we live in. I have often been criticized by friends and family for complaining and not offering any solutions. This is my answer.

I appreciate that in front of the court house seems like the place with the most potent visibility however knowing that the city's biggest concern is going to be our respecting other people's use of public space, I think that space will be used too often to make camping there practical. We can look into it but just for an example Cliff got us a permit for this Saturday in front of the courthouse. We have to be done or move ourselves out of the way by 2:30 because another group has permission to use the area.

If we consider permits like being on stack where everyone of us has the right to use public space... we can't really insist that our use must dominate everyone else's or we will be acting like those we despise.

I do believe we can protest on Pearl Street even if our tents aren't right there. I think we have more flexibility for an encampment in the area we were already in near Canyon & Broadway. The point is to have the most permanent presence we can working with the city and with the public.

I love your vision.

I want to add that our encampment be a drug free zone. Again we want to create a safe place where people will not be afraid to bring their children and people feel welcome. I also think it is important to have a beautiful, orderly, clean camp. Basically being in it for the long haul means we don't want to give the city or the public excuses to complain or to detract from the point of our presence.

We need to find the video from Irvine CA City Council 10/25/11 and link it somewhere. This is where their city council declared that their tents were equal to speech. I want to do more research before we approach the city on other cities that are having a high degree of cooperation with occupations.