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PDF versionThe golden calf of Wall Street
by Maureen Fiedler on Oct. 28, 2011
This week on Interfaith Voices, I interviewed James Salt of Catholics United and Fr. Brian Merritt of Palisades Community Church in northwest D.C. Both have been part of Occupy D.C., the local version of Occupy Wall Street.
James Salt was one of the initiators of a large paper mache "golden calf," created by a growing religious contingent that is part of the Occupy Wall Street movement nationwide. The calf image was made to look like the Wall Street bull and was carried from Judson Memorial Church in New York to the Wall Street encampment -- with great cheers. Moses would have loved it!
If any religious symbol seems appropriate for this movement, the golden calf is it. It has long been a symbol of false idols or false gods, especially money and power.
Both James Salt and Brian Merritt noted that one D.C. encampment is on K Street, long considered the "home" of the D.C. lobbying establishment, thus symbolically linking the realities of money and power.
As they noted, money is made on Wall Street and spent on K Street, often in an effort to control the policies of government in favor of those with money.
Both men candidly admitted that this "occupy" movement is a work in progress, still formulating goals and actions. The real test, they say, comes with the cold weather, and later, the return of spring, with a presidential election looming on the horizon. The movement has not yet developed a strategy for legislative or electoral involvement; that remains in the future.
James Salt, however, would like to see his encamped friends move toward such engagement.
To hear this interview and see a photo of that golden calf, visit our website.
WALL & K STS. AND ROME
WALL & K STS. AND ROME ....... Maureen, and both Streets lead to Rome. Please note the NCR comment and crosslinks under the comment heading,"LIBERTY OR POWER?", accesible by clicking on at
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/bishop-testify-congress-today-relig... .
The moral basis of this
The moral basis of this golden calf movement is a worthy ideal, but let's be honest, we Catholics are neutured by the very fact that the very religious institution we are bound to, as individuals, puts so much emphasis on the "goldn Calf" themselves.
Money is made on Wall Street
Money is made on Wall Street and given to politicians - none more so than the current president. Hmmm...
Thanks for the photo of the
Thanks for the photo of the golden calf, great, please let me bore you with my slides of the Occupy action in front of the US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, also known as "los indignados" after the protestors in Madrid.
http://www.nuestramirada.org/photo/photo/slideshow?albumId=2072012:Album...
http://www.nuestramirada.org/photo/albums/juarenses-en-solidaridad-con-o...
Curious how so many "Trads"
Curious how so many "Trads" on pelvic issues, seem to have no problem throwing the poor under the bus. When Pope Benedict reminds us of our duty to the poor and less fortunate, Weigel & Co, bristle that these statements are "not binding" on the greedy. Cafeteria Catholics indeed.
English "Chartists" of the
English "Chartists" of the 1840s rallied and marched for many political reforms that they hoped would bring their country out of their economic problems and bring some democracy. Most of their pro-democracy reforms were soon accomplished by the end of the 1860s (and today their only unachieved goal is annually-elected parliaments). Why do I bring up the Chartists? They became known for the long charts (dramatically long petition lists with thousands of signatures) that they carried through the streets.
And they were very, very watched as they demonstrated, not only by the crowds of the unemployed of London, Manchester, Birmingham and other cities, but also by the English establishment's wealthy Whigs and Tories, who were skittishly aware of the role of the mobs in the recent French Revolutions of the 1780s and 1790s and the year 1830.
The influence of organized and unorganized crowds, street movements and the like in the course of the last 200 years is studied in George Rude's book, The Crowd in History.
The American Revolution was a struggle for separation, led by American money interests: socially, it was a very conservative revolution. America has had social revolution, and that was (more accurately "has been") the massive changes against segregation and pushing for the ending of racial and other forms of prejudice. There were many Marches and demonstrations that were and are parts of this American story.
These current demonstrations and camp-ins (currently referred to as OWS) will have to be watched to see how they go. In the Kingdom of France in the 1780s, the mobs in rural France (and later in Paris) had no media contacts watching and implicitly advising them. Clearly the OWS people are connected to each other by cell phones, various other electronic means, and with national and global media. And some of them probably are aware of how past demonstrations, in other times and other places, succeeded -- and are so inspired. The mobs of the 18th and early 19th centuries, however, were much more on their own, and were (pardon the pun) moving in uncharted waters, inspired only by hunger and anger.
Vincent W
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