Protest v. Recall

Imagine, for a moment, that the Occupy movement is not a protest movement but a recall movement. The point is not to express grievances through civil disobedience, anger, frustration, unlawful acts, but rather the point is to gather signatures to throw the government out and replace it with a new one.

The medium is the message. Here we'd have thousands and thousands of signature-gatherers across the land, civil and courteous and lawful, getting commitments to a set of principles, such as, repealing corporate personhood, repealing tax loopholes for the rich, getting corporate money out of elections, punishing companies that move jobs overseas. These signatures would form the foundation of Occupy America, perhaps a new political party, or perhaps an organization endorsing a slate of candidates in present parties, but at any rate, millions of people would sign to support these principles and present a power bloc of voters rarely seen in this country.

Not a protest movement but a recall movement. Throw out the insensitive dysfunctional government and replace it with one that responds to our needs.

The great majority who agree on these principles could do this. But it takes a different energy, a different aesthetic, a different mindset -- it takes confident optimism and joy over powerless idealism and anger.
The medium is the message.

No longer a protest movement.
Now a recall movement.

It's beautiful. But it probably won't happen.