OWS = US

I hear people disrespect the Occupy demonstrators, which bothers me to no end. They say disparaging things like:

"Get a job !" To which my answer would be "I did. I held a steady job for 10 years."

"Take a shower !" C'mon, that's just ignorant and insulting. Really?!

"Ya'll are a bunch of hippies !" To which I would reply - some things like love, peace and happiness - or at least the hope for them - should never be outdated...

"You all are just a bunch of lazy bums with nothing better to do !"  There were times when I worked, volunteered, attended school AND single-parented all at the same time.

But, consider this: Artists contribute immeasurably to our economy on a myriad of different levels. Some of them happen to be writing and singing about societal change. Yeah, they (we) may seem 'hippy-dippy', but without them (us), the world doesn't turn on it's axis as smoothly as it should.   Some of our best and most pivotal times as a society were changes brought about as a result of sit-ins, marches, petitions, chants, mottos, anthems and declarations... And, yes - sometimes we tore each other down during the process - which didn't stop it - it only served to delay...

Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs said it best:

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”