Constructive Goals Occupy Wall Street could pursue - engaging Republicans

The emotion and outrage that fuels occupy wall street is a powerful force, but I feel like the reason we have a disfunctional Congress is because we have too many people in this country whose views have been cast in concrete by linking ideas with the strong emotions that are generated by confrontation.

Back in the 1960's and 1970's the social movements of that time galvanized young people on the left side of the political spectrum, who really felt like they were on the side of all that is true and right and anyone opposed to them deserved to be dismissed.

History has shown their was a degree of truth to their beliefs - much of what were radical ideas at the time - particularly in civil rights - are now commonly accepted as truths of what America stands for.

But I believe the dismissive and somewhat arrogant attitude of the leftish movements are to some degree the source of the irrational group-think and obstructionism that marks current Republican politics.  People of a Conservative persuasion who are running the Republican party now were young folks growing up during those years and got pummeled for expressing Conservative views.  So they learned to express their views among themselves rather than trying to engage the left.  You see the results in the extraordinary Republican primary playing out before our eyes, where political views that ignore history, objective data and common sense cannot even be expressed by a candidate without the candidate being marginalized in the party for not toeing the party line.  Republican ideology has become the political equivalent of a bulldog - so inbred it is littered with genetic defects.

Occupy Wall Street should avoid going down that same road.  OWS should be arranging discussions of basic policy questions in a format that protects participants from abuse and inviting Republican organization to join to present their views.  A format for discussions that focuses on data rather than ideology and encourages people to think about whether their political beliefs actually accomplish the goals they seek can be found at www.Theidp.org

I believe if this kind of engagement could occur in enough parts of the country we could break the logjam in Washington in a few years, and it would certainly contribute to a more civil and productive government in the longer term.

This is not a path to be pursued by those just out for the experience.  Engagement requires discipline, research and tolerance.  You have to want to be a force for good.