Occupy This!

Watching, from afar, the recent Occupy Fill-in-the-blank demonstrations, I am reminded of the demonstrations by my generation in the 60's. But there is a difference, and it has nothing to do with intent or the merit of recent protests. It's all about size!

My generation was the baby-boomers, and we were, by headcount, a large generation. It was right after WWII, with vets coming home on the GI bill, and industry still cranked at high gear from the war. Money was fairly plentiful, jobs easy to come by, and kids came by the handful.

Then the 60's hit, and the Vietnam War, and the draft, and all hell broke loose. Of course, what many don't recall is that our prosperity was just starting to cool, and the counter culture wanted to abandon the rich man's life ... sort of. In the end, the baby-boomers of yore are the conservatives of today.

But today's protest generation is both in number and percentage smaller than we were. We had clout that included an impact on the economy. We were numerous and our buying patterns neant something.

Today, however, the Occupy generation is smaller, has less disposable cash, and is therefore less of a threat. This is a shame as what they are asking for is to change the status quo, to better society, to level the playing field.

Will they have an impact? Yes, but it will take longer to be felt. Still, I'll be patient, as all good things are worth waiting for.

Time to choose a topic

I feel like adding a post to this blog, today, but I'm not sure what to write about. For example, I could write about the upcoming presidential campaigns, and my feelings about the idiocy in both of our major political parties. But that topic doesn't seem as urgent, to me, at the moment.

What does seem to occupy my head is my need to write, and feeling as if I have nothing to write about. It has taken some effort to work on my recent projects: my monograph, two mid-grade novels, poetry, etc. Instead I'm writing about not being able to write which, in itself, seems to be a contradiction of sorts.

Is it true that writing is writing? That no matter what you write, you're still engaged in the process?

I suppose, but somehow writing about writing doesn't provide the same degree of satisfaction. So, perhaps, there are degrees of writings, each of which provides varying amounts of accomplishment. Still, what I'm speaking of is how I feel about what I'm engaged in, rather than what I receive from the act of writing.

For example, at this moment, I'm starting to feel as if this form of writing, blogging, is what I was meant to do, today. Which is fine by me.

What I see

That's what this blog is all about; what I see from my corner of the room, and how I see it. Sometimes, my posts will seem brilliant, while other times they may simply be the ramblings of a silly old man.

Still, that is what life is all about. Not only are we all different, but on any given day, each of us is never the same. We, and life, keeps evolving, hopefully towards a better future. At least that's how I see it.