Occupying For A Cause

The "Kitchen" area--free food for those who needed.
With compost buckets. There was a public safety section,
a library, a family play area, and a medical area among other things.

Trying to stay dry and sleep

I biked downtown today to get out of the house (taking a break from frustrations of job applications) and get some exercise. I happened to go by the plaza where the local protesters were staging Occupy MN. I thought I'd check it out.

For those of you who know me, you know I'm not much into politics. I haven't been following much with the Occupy Wall-Street movement or its local spin-offs. I haven't read other's blogs on it. So I acknowledge right off that I'm not well-educated. What I know mainly comes from facebook and listening to talk on the radio when I'm in the car.

Today was a wet, cold day, so the plaza wasn't full by any means. Maybe two-dozen people at most (including those sleeping). No body was yelling chants or even doing much interaction with those passing by (including all the "suits"). It was a very peaceful protest.

This older man from "Vets for Peace" wasn't allowed
to have a tent-like shelter over him to stay dry under.
Yet, he was undeterred.

There were a large number of "hippie types" and twenty-somethings whom you would expect, but there were people from almost every generation--including the retired man at the Vets for Peace booth.

Everything I've heard has been peaceful

There is a lot that Occupy MN is protesting...everything from the war to health care to subsidizing big corporations to Monsanto (noting far out of hand we've gotten that its illegal to plant a seed from an apple grown by the company). I guess it mainly comes down to people who believe things have gotten too out of hand with our government and their interaction with corporate America--pushing for a separation of government and Wall Street, almost as if Wall Street has become a religion.

Even the port-a-potties got in on the action.

While I don't agree with everything about Occupy Wall Street, I do have some level of admiration for those who are there. It takes a deep passion to sit out in the wet and cold autumn weather of Minnesota. They may not change much in the immediate future, but they're doing something to try and bring change to places where they feel change is needed need. This is American. We should applaud people without apathy. This is what freedom is about, especially in seeking the rights of the majority to be upheld (whether or not you feel they are appropriate "rights").

Much of what they're protesting is stuff that people who follow Christ can get behind: ending war and seeking peace, taking care of the health needs of the sick, helping the poor. These are things Jesus talked about and taught His followers about.

This one has been going
around on facebook

Politics aside, I wonder what the church would look like if we had the same sort of passion for what we believe in--for what we believe is right? I think that sometimes we forget that being a Christian means that we follow Christ...we follow His teachings, we follow His actions, we love like He did. What if we started occupying our faith?