Sometimes events occur that allow for us to communicate elements of our belief system. Such is the case with the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. Occupy Wall Street provided Mr. Pennington the event that gave him a reason to bellow out from the core of himself. In his article, To My Friends At Occupy Wall St; A Gift to Help You, he packages his gift as a mantra and it sounds like a refrain as it is repeated multiple times throughout his article. His gift sounds simple, yet it comes with profound implications. His gift to help his friends at Occupy Wall Street is this: Understand that “the world does not owe you anything.”
The title of his piece is deceptive in that it makes his gift sound as if it is only being offered to help his Occupy Wall Street friends. However, it seems fair to conclude that he is indirectly offering his gift to all people. For it would make no logical sense for him to offer the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators a gift that helps them to understand that the world does not owe them anything, yet somehow extend the Non-Occupy Wall Street folks of the world anything more than nothing.
On 10/27/2011, Mr. Pennington commented on one of my Associated Content articles on Y!CN with the following statement: “But in all honesty, “rights” are a human invention stemming from our ability to go into agreements and understandings with each other (contracts). Rights are a WONDERFUL IDEA and certainly an idea I enjoy, but they’re still an invention of the mind of man”. Donald Pennington-comments, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9074849/occupy_wall_street_the_gift.html?com=2&cat=17
With that in mind, it is important to contrast Mr. Pennington’s apparent views with The Declaration of Independence and the United States Supreme Court’s decision to add the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution.
Again, as I did in my article, Occupy Wall Street: The Gift, I offer the following quotation which is sourced at the end of this article. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Declaration of Independence
Further this source cites, The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution, freedom and equality were guaranteed expressly to all regardless “of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.“1 United States v. Reese, 92 U.S. 214, 218. BELL v. MARYLAND, 378 U.S. 226 (1964)
Neither the words in the Declaration of Independence nor the words of The United States Supreme Court seem in sync with Mr. Pennington’s ideas. This article is not an attempt to argue the merits of the Occupy Wall Street protests one way or another. Its sole purpose is to examine once again the gift that Mr. Pennington offers in his aforementioned article.
Mr. Pennington appears to have made his gift here in United States of America. However, should we proudly proclaim it as made in the U.S.A? In my opinion, the answer to that question is a resounding no! Therefore, I think it is best to take his gift and boldly stamp it with the words, Return to Sender! Will you keep Mr. Pennington’s gift or will you also stamp the package, Return to Sender!
Upon publication of this article, out of professional courtesy and In order to provide Mr. Pennington the opportunity to respond to this article, I will email him a link to this article.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9074849/occupy_wall_street_the_gift.html?cat=17
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9012445/to_my_friends_at_occupy_wall_st_a_gift.html?cat=9
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_history.html
http://www.gemworld.com/USA-Unalienable.htm