Declaration of Occupy Melbourne (proposed)

In the present great era of reform, when unjust Governments are falling all around the World; when our society has been shattered into thousands of perceived minorities and subtly pitted against each other by those who crave power; when the rights of people are guaranteed under international law but ignored by the ruling class; when outdated forms of government act against the common sense and common interests of humankind; when all Government is acknowledged to originate from the people, and to be so far only necessary as it protects their rights and promotes their welfare; we are duty bound, as Citizens of the World, to come forward, and state what we feel to be our heavy grievance, and what we know to be its remedy. We have no national Government -- we are ruled by Plutocracy, by a very small minority of individuals who put profits before people, whose instrument is corruption, and whose strength is the weakness of the Rest of Humankind; and these individuals use the wealth and influence they have accumulated as means to seduce and subdue the honesty and spirit of our representatives in the legislature.

Such an extreme power, acting with uniform force, in a direction too frequently opposite to the true line of our obvious interests, can be resisted with effect solely by unanimity, decision and spirit in the people -- qualities which may be exercised legally and constitutionally by that great measure essential to the prosperity and freedom of Everyone -- an equal representation of all the people in Parliament. In the past this has been an impossible dream but with our modern technology we have the ability to create and participate in a democratic forum of millions of people thousands of kilometres apart with the click of a button.

Impressed with these sentiments, we have agreed to form an association to be called "The Occupy Movement", This occupation is a proclamation of solidarity with millions of people occupying cities around the world right now. Our collective aim is toward a just and equitable society and we do pledge ourselves to our brothers and sisters all around the world, that in the name of democracy we will steadily support and endeavour, by all due means, to carry into effect the following resolutions:
FIRST RESOLVED -- That the land of Australia in which we occupy is stolen land and to correct the grave injustices that have been inflicted on the indigenous population we must work together to create a treaty for the healing of the nation.
SECOND -- That the sole constitutional mode by which this influence can be opposed is by a complete and radical reform of the representation of the people in Parliament.
THIRD -- That no reform is practicable or just, which shall not include Australians of every cultural, ethnic and religious persuasion.
We have gone to what we conceive to be the root of the evil. We have stated what we conceive to be the remedy. With a Parliament thus reformed, everything is easy; without it, nothing can be done. And we do call on, and most earnestly exhort, our countrymen in general to follow our example, and to form similar occupations in every part of the country for the promotion of constitutional knowledge, the abolition of bigotry in religion and politics, and the equal distribution of the rights of all people.

If this was an essay you handed in at uni, and the teacher knew of the original, what mark do you think you would get? Sorry, I don't mean to be antagonistic, I love the idea of what you are doing, and until I saw the Irish thing I was prepared to go with it, but I think it needs to be re-written from scratch. I am very happy to help with that, but not via facebook. ok, moving moved to forum :-)

How about instead of 'we are ruled by Plutocracy' we say 'we are ruled by money and false power, instead of care and compassion'.
I honestly think it needs to be said that the Occupy Movement is about love, care, compassion...basic rights and social justice.
We are being overlooked and ignored by those who assume false power. Goverments pander to those with wealth and ignore the poor. They treat us like chattel and slaves and pay only lip service just long enough to get themselves elected again so they can do what they want until the next election.

I think the language needs to be simpler and more accessible, instead of a legal document why not a passionate, plain speaking document. All the politicians and professional intellectuals ensnare people with word games and unclear, convoluted verbiage.

Lets talk plain so even the simplest of people can know what the hell we are on about, plain and simple.

Davey Gravey wrote:I think the language needs to be simpler and more accessible, instead of a legal document why not a passionate, plain speaking document. All the politicians and professional intellectuals ensnare people with word games and unclear, convoluted verbiage.

I agree completely.

i really don't see how modifying a document that i am an intellectual heir to can be perceived as plagarism, but i admit that using it as a template was a convenient shortcut, and one that i felt necessary to get the ball rolling so we can start focusing on solutions. i'm more than happy to contribute to a completely independent document if it is an issue. i agree with davey that it could still use a lot more inclusive and plain language. i will sleep on it i think, and hopefully we can set aside some time to get it done right.

What kind of codswallop is that intellectual heir. You should stick to cut and paste.

But I like the connection to the Irish struggle they knew that there was no point in thinking they could throw the British out peacefully they used the gun because it was neccesary. In fact I can't think of any movement for freedom where the gun hasn't been necessary. Any declaration needs to ensure that it tells the truth. That it does not try to fool people or give them false expectations. To wrest control from the 1% is going to require force.

Sorry to sound so vague but what is your intention for this document you're drafting?

sorry for the late reply. this is a heavily modified version of the declaration of the united irishmen pf 1798. the intent is to bring it to the attention of the general assembly for analysis and discussion. this document began a violent overthrow of the established government of the day and considering that australia is currently experiencing a similiar disconnect from the current model of government (as evidenced by the tremendously low approval rating for all the available choices of political parties) it would seem appropriate to explore other options. i do not advocate the use of force and violence to bring about political change as i believe egypt recently proved that change can come without resorting to armed conflict. besides, the general assembly has been quite clear that we wish to remain peaceful and i respect that.

Hi Anoun this is a great start for sure and thank you for putting this forward.

I did a little bit of research and came across this one that I am not sure if this is exactly it but for the Occupy Wall street people. The Declaration that they have.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2028733

This is the link for those who want to look over it maybe we can find a way to mesh the two ? Maybe keeping things nice and simple, helps with the reading of things making it more modern sounding to not sure. Depends on what other think. I am happy to go and work on some of this and then see what others can come up with kind of like a work in progress if that makes sense.