Sophocles was one smart dude

"Heaven ne'er helps the men who will not act." (Sophocles)

And so it is with this quote that I begin a reply to another favorite ancient (:) whose posts are impassioned and reflective. The topic de jour is the Occupy Wall Street movement sweeping the world and more specifically those who have settled near her home in Boston. The occupiers make life inconvenient with snarled traffic and loitering; she has traversed the buses and streets via wheelchair and is exploring their platform and motivations. I am very interested in her opportunity to see first-hand what is going on. And yet, and yet ...

In every movement, there are those whose motivations are not in sync with the movement itself. Kind of the 'And ANOTHER thing' mentality. When a voice has been silent too long, everything that seems unfair about our free enterprise system tumbles out and can diffuse the message they want to convey. I once participated in a sit-in at my high school for better food to be served in the cafeteria. I didn't actually eat in the cafeteria, but it was a sit in and I wanted to miss class.

I have been studying our economy in the last couple of years, and I am sorry to say not much before that. Wall street, leveraging substandard commodities, the subprime mess, the foreclosure fiasco and what is behind it comes down to ~ profit at all costs. My fundamental conclusion is about the way people become powerful and stay powerful, and that is: through any means possible.

There is no honor in the hallowed halls of business and finance. There is no American patriotism or ethical frameworks to reign them in. Justice is not blind to money and power. Our financial structure is a calculated machine designed to extract every ounce of revenue regardless of what is best for our country and its people.

You might recognize this philosophical business model from the Middle East. What a thorn in our side it has been to grapple with Oil Cartels and embargos through the 20th century. Gas was .35 a gallon when I began to drive, and the same product today costs 3.85. Why? Because oil rich countries have enslaved countries like ours. They call the shots, monopolize the market, and set the price to ensure outrageous profits. It has been argued that we have a choice to use foreign oil or not. I agree: we have a choice, even in America that snubs public transit as a poor substitute for the freedom and independence of a car. Our country is too lazy to develop alternative energy sources that would be in the best interests of the planet and the country, and that is a choice.

But when you start screwing with the economic stability and basic top 3 of the working class (food housing shelter), and you try to apply the cartel model, all bets are off.

Let's put it this way: For any American citizen to intentionally set out to skim unearned profits that will destabilize the country's financial foundations is a reprehensible act.  There were warning signs, and yet the risky behavior continued along this course, using their position and wealth to control and circumvent the legal system. There is plenty of evidence that even after the collapse had begun, the business model continued to squeeze every last profit via fraud and deceit.

So I ask you: which was a more direct hit to our financial strength and national durability ~ the Twin Towers or Bank/Wall Street's calculated attack on the American people?  That's what I think, too. This in every way was an act of 'domestic' Treason.

Oran's Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as "...[a]...citizen's actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation]."

In its simplest form, Americans want/need/demand accountability for those unethical and fraudulent business practices by the ruling class. It is not a matter of envy at all: it is in horror and  astonishment that people want a sluggish and confused Political body to DO SOMETHING. We the People believe the same rules should apply to the Wall Street and Big Bank Cartels as it would be if we stole our neighbor's car, credit cards and milk cow.

It is unfathomable that those with more money and toys than they know what to do with felt the compulsion to steal from those who cannot defend themselves. The evidence proves these same looters continue to steal our homes, our livelihoods, and our future.

I agree that greed and arrogance will be judged when they stand before God.  But for now, all we really want is for the hemmorage to stop.