An Open Letter to the People of the United States

An Open Letter to the People of the United States

On Occasion of a General Strike in Oakland, CA on November 2, 2011

Today marks a momentous occasion, one that has the potential to spark a fundamental change in the way that we view our relationship between ourselves, our government, and business. I am writing this letter in the hope that what started out as a protest without definable goals can become, over time, a force for specific redress of specific issues that impact our lives.

First, let me start with a bit of background – I am a member of the 1%. I will not apologize for this – I have achieved much financial success within the legal, political, and economic framework we have today, and even though I disagree with that framework, I use my success within it to help bring about the changes both you and I seek.

If I told you my name, you would most likely already know a bit about me. However, I choose not to do reveal my identity, because I believe that the leaderless resistance shown within the Occupy movement is fundamental to achieving a successful outcome for all, without co-option and manipulation by elites and those who wish to become elites.

Of course, with leaderless resistance comes the potential of rudderless resistance. I hope that the following points can serve as a philosophical guideline for future demands, a sort of preliminary Constitution for the movement:

1) The cooperation and collusion between Government and large, multi-national Business creates an environment in which the People are unable to pursue their individual and collective right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. No Government should be allowed to create rules and regulations that may only be understood and manipulated by large Business at the expense of the People.

2) Neither the State nor the Corporation should have the right to become so big and so onerous as to become self-serving and unable to be broken without catastrophic results to the People.

3) Business should, by legal force if necessary, serve its customers, its workers, and its shareholders/owners in equal parts

4) Government should, by legal force if necessary, serve the People and only the People, without influence from Lobbyists, Business, Sovereign Nations, or Politicians’ and Bureaucrats’ Job Security. The People have a right to impose all necessary legal prohibitions from any of these potential influencers standing in the way of the will of the People.

5) The People desire a meritocracy in all things related to the Pursuit of Happiness, and to achieve this equality in access to education is a necessity.

6) The People understand that a minimum standard of shelter, food, healthcare, and safety is necessary to even pursue happiness, and that the People have a right to demand this from their Government.

7) The People have a right to pursue happiness without fear of losing shelter, food, healthcare, and safety in the future. The Government must guarantee these things for all those who have made an attempt to pursue happiness in a field of their choosing, and for those who are unable to fend for themselves due to health reasons or the failings of their Government in the past.

8) Business and Government must not have the right to obfuscate their rules and regulations from the People in any way, especially using the legal system as ‘cover’.

9) Free and equal access to information is a prerequisite for achieving all of the above. The Media may not be allowed to use its reach to unduly influence opinion or otherwise interfere with a free flow of ideas.

10) The People of the United States understand that the People of all Nations have the same inalienable rights as we do, and therefore have the right to demand from their Government that it use all political and economic tools at its disposal to ensure that all sovereign nations who interact with the People of the United States abide by the above.