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November 23. 2011
Fortiani» (Observer
Page 7
O pinion
Movement is a Voice to the Vulnerable
B entley de B ardelaben
P ondering the
O ccu p y m o v e ­
by
ment, I find that I
am e x c ite d that
m em bers o f our
great republic are
continuing to protest as a way to
make their frustration known
about economic inequality.
Being a proponent o f activ­
ism and advocacy, I realize
that dem onstrations can be a
tool to dem and change to tax,
civic and corporate laws. As
the race for the W hite House
begins a countdown to the 2012
electio n s, I w atch how the
President and C ongress might
address the concerns o f those
feeling unheard, invisible and
taken for granted.
Varying in political outlook,
ethnicity, age, religion and in­
come, these protesters have as­
sem b led v ow ing to rem ain
present until their concerns are
addressed. Unfortunately, there
is still no cohesive message be­
ing released to the media, gov­
ernment agencies or elected of­
ficials. M oreover, the violent
fringe element connected to the
occupy m ovem ent has been
counterproductive to the brand.
Nonetheless, it is clear that
their overall intent and goal is to
communicate that something is
indeed wrong with our economy
and it must be addressed for the
good of the citizenry.
The United Church of Christ
national staff has heard from
many that we must support those
who are feeling marginalized and
overwhelmed in this economy.
Our five-person Collegium of
officers issued a statement last
m onth urging m em bers and
churches to “seek the common
good as the church and in soci­
ety through creative vision, faith­
ful action and prayer.
As a Christian, I understand
that it is my responsibility to live
out the mandate of Christ to
stand with the vulnerable in our
communities. The occupy move­
ment has identified who the vul­
nerable are. It is not possible for
anyone to say that they have no
awareness o f such need or suf­
fering. With the change o f sea­
son, it is my hope that these
courageous individuals will not
be deterred from continuing to
let their voices be heard.
As we embark upon the holi-
day season, I hope that we will thereby remind us of who and executive with Justice Minis-
honor the ways we have been whose we are.
tries in the United Church o f
blessed as family, community or
Bentley de Bardelaben is an Christ.
nation. While for people in other
countries, the opportunity to pro­
test could come with the threat
of bodily harm, imprisonment, or
perhaps even death. Yet in our
democracy, in most instances,
üble J Ti
we can disagree with the ruling
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Friends, we must not take
our freedoms for granted; they
can be taken away from us if we
R E S T A U R A N I
aren’t paying attention. I am
confident that with our help the
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demonstrators will continue to
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challenge the establishment and
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Occupy Portland Response
Kudos to Portland M ayor
Sam A dam s and Police C hief
M ike Reese for their respect­
ful, appropriate and successful
handling o f the O ccupy Port­
land ad hoc cam pground event
in the parks near City hall.
C o n g ratu latio n s also to Lt.
Robert King whose graceful
and subdued w ork as a TV
spokesperson was exem plary
in helping to keep things calm.
TV reporting was a mixed
bag. Local television news is
mostly about "blood" and "pup­
pies." There w asn't much of
either at the O ccupy Portland
en cam p m en t. N ev e rth e le ss,
one reporter in a hyper excited
voice tried her best to find con­
troversy w here none existed.
She clearly w ould have rel­
ished a fight or a fire. She
w ondered on cam era why so
many of the O ccupy Portland
folks didn't like the media.
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M ost citizens, most o f the
time don't have a clue how
governm ent works nor do they
care. About 18 percent o f age-
elig ib le citizen s don't even
bother to register to vote in
Portland. It stands to reason
that if you don't know how
som ething works it's hard to
fix it.
N evertheless, O ccupy Port­
land, despite its reported lack
of focus has accurately and
a u th en tically ex p ressed the
frustration and anger o f the 99
percent, the "rest o f us" - an
apt phrase once used by A pple
com puter.
Even if most of the local TV
news crowd doesn't get it - the
rest of us do. America's national
political and economic system is
broken. Our Congress is dys­
functional. Our President seems
more a bystander than a player.
The Republican candidates for
president perform as a very bad
reality TV show where igno­
rance, deception and the assault
on reason are the main attrac­
tions.
We mere citizens can't com­
pete with those individuals and
corporations that have most of
the money and the power to
keep getting more. The best we
can do is stand up in public and
shout, "We are in pain. Your
greed is killing us."
T hat shout from O ccupy
Portland was heard around the
world. Thank you.
Richard Ellmyer
North Portland
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(503) 281-8696
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