"LET THEM EAT CAKE," SAID MARIE ANTOINETTE

The late Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, made the “let them eat cake” phrase because she had no idea what was really going on in the world, but lost her head, anyway.  Today, there’s no excuse for most people to ignore current events.

If you watch the news -- local or national -- you have probably noticed that there are a lot of people with signs occupying parks and malls.  As a matter of fact, the name they are using began as “Occupy Wall Street,” though the scope has spread.

As of 10/15/11, there were protests going on in 100 American cities, from Orlando to Anchorage, with events reportedly planned in 82 other countries.  Critics, of course, are downplaying the demonstrations, characterizing them as unorganized mobs with no central goal.

When enough people are angry, sometimes the unrest precedes the stated goal – awaiting leaders or pivotal events.  Laughing at such a large movement of people is a bad idea, as is ignoring them. Mohandas Gandhi, who had a lot of success directing peaceful mass movements of the poor, had this to say: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Gandhi was speaking of the British Empire, which he forced to its knees in India, but his nonviolent resistance was adopted from a 19^th Century American named Henry David Thoreau.  Martin Luther King Jr. later used Gandhi’s tactics to fight festering racial injustices in this country.  Every movement starts somewhere.

The current crop of angry people are calling themselves the “99 percent,” but that’s rhetoric.  The majority in this country still have a job and a place to live.  Many are scraping by, but not yet angry enough to join the occupation.  The question is, what percentage of the population of a country as big as the U.S. must take to the streets before things turn nasty?

The Tea Party movement, whose members often refer to themselves “as the American people,” emphasis on “the,”  comprise an estimated 14 to 20 percent of the population.  Even so, they have managed to bring the country to a virtual stand-still by frightening weak-willed politicians into signing impractical pledges to never raise taxes.

Imagine the effectiveness of a group of people that may already have the sympathy of half the population, if and when they do coalesce into a focused and determined movement. As the young who sold their souls to the banks for a degree that means nothing now, and their elders continue to lose jobs and homes, they will only become angrier.

Recently a question along these lines made the rounds on the Internet:  “What kind of person believes that paying two or three percent more tax on millions is wrong, while cutting a school teacher’s salary by 20 percent is all right?”  It is not an outlandish question  because it is happening as tax revenues dry up and social services, schools, police and fire protection shrink.

As with every other every large group, there are a few who are there for purposes of  mischief and worse.  I haven’t personally been on hand for any of the occupations, but people I trust have and they tell me that many of the protesters are laid-off professionals, students with advanced degrees and no jobs and those who were living the American dream before they lost their homes.

If 14 to 20 percent of the population, mostly well-fed, secure in their homes and concerned primarily with how much they have to pay in taxes can cause government to grind almost to a halt, you have to wonder what an even larger percentage of angry people without jobs, medical care, and homes might do.

It’s something to think about while jeering at the crowds.

AMERICA'S CURMUDGEON IS STEPPING DOWN

Andy Rooney is retiring -- or at least retreating from his full time job -- as America’s favorite essayist and grumpy old man.  For more than three decades he has been the dessert at the end of the “60 Minutes” television show with his short segment, “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney.”

Rooney began his career as a writer for Stars & Stripes while in the Army during World War II. Along the way, he wrote for Arthur Godfrey and his Friends and The Gary Moore Show. He began writing CBS News "essays" in the 1960s, beginning with "An Essay on Doors" in 1964, proving to bigwigs that he could make anything sound interesting.

The idea that the mundane things of life could be just as interesting and spectacular events, was an idea that took root with the “beat writers.”  Most people think of Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Gingsberg or even Charles Bukowski when the beat generation is mentioned, but Gene Shepherd of  A Christmas Story fame was also in the movement .  Millions have laughed at a little boys quest for a Daisy air rifle.

While not a beat writer himself, Andy Rooney understood the concept of the mundane, even trivial as a source of wonder and humor.  He became a master of the understatement and dry wit such as, “No matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with,” and “It's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular,” and  “To ignore the facts does not change the facts.”

In a world moving at warp speed, there were those who thought that Rooney had become dated and uninteresting.  Myself, I don’t think good writing can ever be dated.  I didn’t watch Rooney’s segment every week, but I’ll still miss him.

Andy Rooney is a man with class.

NEANDERTHAL WOULD HAVE BEEN SHOCKED AT OUR BEHAVIOR

Fifty thousand years ago or maybe earlier our ancestors were caring for the sick, injured and elderly – sharing precious resources with members who could no longer produce.  If only we could say the same thing about modern Americans, some of whom now advocate a form survival of the fittest – or those who can afford health care – that would have shocked Neanderthal. 

Read about a more compassionate branch of our species in Heritage.

Complaints Only Heard in Wealthy Nations

There are places in the world where people are still dying from malaria; places where there is no clean water; places where children are starving and places where revolutions are in progress.

Only in wealthy nations do we hear people complain because cable is out for a little while; or because it takes the power company a couple of hours to get the lights back on after a storm, through which we sat safe and dry in houses with giant television screens, a land-line telephone and a cell phone in every pocket or purse.

The next time you decide to throw a fit because you find instructions printed in other languages as well as English -- think about it. A large segment of the world would be happy to change places with you.