Berkley Center

I am sympathetic to those who have chosen to camp out on Wall Street and storm Congressional office buildings. As a generation, we have a lot to be angry about. As the stock market crashed in 2008, I thanked God I was still in school. Four years and a young, fresh, and Democratic president was more than enough time and talent to make the ever-growing unemployment figures a thing of the past. I remember responding with a deep sigh of relief as my economics professor graphed out the long-term income differentials of those entering the job market during a recession. There was hope; the economic downturn was temporary, and the government was going to do something about it.

Forgive my naïveté; as senior in the job market, my optimism has taken a different turn. College graduates seeking entry-level jobs must compete with those with twice the amount of experience and education. With student loan debt and no job stability in sight, economic prosperity seems far beyond our reach. We are losing hope in key American values, as we realize our hard work and freshly printed diplomas are not enough to ensure our success.

My generation, of course, is not the first to suffer under uncertainty. I understand the concept of a boom and bust economic cycle. It’s an economic reality and important socially that we experience times of hardship. As the economy slows, we learn to save, realign our priorities, and humble ourselves as a community. However, the more we learn about this economic crisis the more our country’s suffering feels far different than a natural economic contraction. Corporate greed, a lack of government oversight, corruption, and now political stalemate have given a face and a cause to a dark hole we can’t seem to dig ourselves out of.

I understand why young people (and some not so young people) have taken on Wall Street and K Street, symbols of power and authority that have seemingly abandoned us when we need them most. Yet, I have chosen not to march with them. I won’t occupy DC because I am a moderate. It is difficult to mobilize the middle; the rhetoric doesn’t have the same driving force. The Tea Party and the 99%’ers, however, have stretched the American political spectrum to the extreme with passionate appeals. We have gone so far that compromise requires pandering to viewpoints rarely entertained on the national stage. The solution is not an answer to the radical right, but a draw toward the center.

As a young person concerned about the not so distant future, I don’t want different rhetoric. I want compromise. When we talk about American values, democracy stands at the center. Essential to a healthy democracy is a vibrant and civil discourse. As the radical left takes to the streets, we move farther and farther from that ideal.

Last Tuesday, I went with the Berkley Center to an event in Philadelphia put on by Georgetown and the Ford Foundation. The panel of public officials and community leaders were charged with finding common ground on American values and the budget. Despite the ever-powerful pull of our sound bite culture, the event was refreshing. People who disagreed with one another talked, not yelled. The middle loses its voice when the right and the left scream the loudest. Moderation, compromise, and respect are core American values and keys to governing in such away that we can push our country out of the recession. Despite the appeal of the activism and the passion of the Occupy movement, I’m sitting this one out, hoping that maybe America can have a conversation instead.