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Message: <blockquote data-quote="wkmac" data-source="post: 902728" data-attributes="member: 2189">Good one.  More and more officers are speaking out against the militarization of the police.  Yesterday I heard an interview with a retired NYC Police Captain who came down to NY Occupy to join the protest and one of his concerns was the militarization of law enforcement he's seen with his own eyes.Andy Alexis-Baker at Jesus Radicals has written a piece <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121116013753/http://www.jesusradicals.com/the-myth-of-the-state-as-savior-and-elections-as-confession-of-faith/" target="_blank">"The Myth of the State As Savior and Elections as Confessions of Faith"</a> and he makes a historical case about the ineffectiveness of the electoral process to affect real change. Instead, real change comes about by a certain degree, taking it to the streets with public political action and non-violent non-compliance.   I know we've been conditioned to think otherwise but I do think this is one area the Occupy movement should push and that is to abandon the electoral process.  Real conservatives and liberals when honest will admit they never get what they vote for in the election process so then why waste the time in the first place?  Knowing this and yet still voting especially for either of the 2 parties and expecting a different outcome this time is the definition of stupidity.  Geez, at least vote for a 3rd party if for no other reason but to scare the crap out of the 2 parties as they watch the total % of voters decline in their 2 camps.The initial tea party with Trevor Leach (offshoot of the Campaign for Liberty), before the infamous Santelli rant and the astro-turfing of the April 15, 2009' media circus was not so focused on any specific side of elective politics but was purely issue driven and among those was opposition to the Corp. State getting bailed out by TARP.  The initial Occupy movement when it came to the Corp. State getting bailed out was singing from the same sheet of music and there was more overlap between the 2 than most want to realize or admit.  But like the early Tea Party, the Occupy movement has been astro-turfed as well.  Chris Hedges with whom I would disagree in many areas but with whom I respect has been more and more vocal in the recent couple of years that any relief in the 2 party system will not be found and this very principled man of the left is absolutely correct.  Chris is also a very principled man of faith which shapes his worldview and although I don't share his faith or belief I do urge the Occupy movement to consider the words of Chris to abandon the elective process at least in the sense of backing the 2 party system.[media=youtube]uz5RxhahHK0[/media]</blockquote>

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