My first taste of democracy!

I'll be honest, I went for the drama. Sure, I am clergy, a Unitarian Universalist Minister, and I very much wanted to be at Occupy Oakland last night as a witness, as a voice of calm and peace, and to learn how I could help breathe this fledgling movement into life.

But as anyone who knows me well will tell you, I am always one who runs towards a rock fight, and not away as any sane person would. And so the videos of my fellow Americans being beaten up, tear gassed and harassed by Oakland police officers from the night before was front and center on my mind as I made my way to Frank Ogawa Plaza Oscar Grant Plaza.



But what I experienced was something so much deeper and meaningful than I could have ever expected. For the first time in my life as an American I experienced true democracy. The work had gotten underway about an hour before I arrived. Thousands of people gathered peacefully, centered around a raised area where one person at a time could speak. And since the crowd was far larger than the small speaker system could reach, all the words were repeated by those close enough to hear, and so they radiated out in a slow gentle echo.

At the beginning of this evening General Assembly a proposal had been brought to the assembled group: To call a general strike and walk out in Oakland the following Wednesday, November 2, 2011. For the next several hours we debated the proposal, sometimes as a group of 3,000 and at other times in small groups of 20. By 9:30 PM we were ready to vote, so we once again broke into our small groups, exchanged a few last thoughts, and voted. Here is a video I shot of that exciting moment:



Although a few people in my group voted against the proposal, it ended up easily passing the 90% threshold we had set, and people excitedly expressed their approval. It was like nothing I had ever been a part of before. Thousands of us had suddenly pulled back the curtain of illusion that what we do in America is democracy. Suddenly the layers of campaign ads, lobbyist, pork bills, and crooked politicians seemed completely ridiculous and exposed for the corporate lie it is.

There were other great moments too. Re-connecting with old friends who materialized out of the darkness, the announcments of solidarity from Occupy Wall St (who sent Occupy Oakland a $20,000 donation last night!) and Tahrir Sq and the "We are Tahrir Sq" chant that we took up afterwards. But it was that first taste of true democracy that I will continue to carry with me. It has changed me in a very real way that I have no doubt will continue to unfold in the coming days and months.

And so I call to each and every one of you to join a General Assembly at the nearest occupy site to where you live. Spend one evening with these people, hearing their stories and most importantly partaking in the sweet liberating power of real democracy. Because nothing should scare Washington D.C. and the 1% more than the 99% truly waking up to our power.