Yesterday at church, my friend Doug, a Korean War veteran in his late seventies told me he finally found some downtime the previous Friday to join the Occupy protesters downtown. He told me with a proud smile, “I made a sign that said ‘US Veterans for OWS’ on one side and ‘Christians for OWS’ on the other side.” His anecdote made my week!

Doug’s story shows that the Occupy Movement has no boundaries for age, race, or gender but that it really is all about socioeconomic divisions. Since the movement started precisely a month ago, many critics and members of the opposition (a.k.a. “the top 1%”) have said that the movement has no coherent message. Someone I spoke to personally put it this way: “It’s a bunch of pissed off unemployed hipsters shouting about being unemployed, and tax breaks for corporations, and climate change… Why don’t they just go look for work instead of holding demonstrations?” Aside from the obvious short-shortsightedness and narrow-mindedness of this comment, there are many people who think this way–unfortunately. Lucky for us, those people are absolutely wrong.

Yes, the Occupy Movement has several messages, but the main agenda of the movement is crystal clear: We’re not gonna take it. Thanks, Twisted Sister, for coining our unofficial theme song. After a decade of high unemployment rates, failed wars, dwindling opportunities, rising education costs, and politics that are benefiting the wealthy, Americans are finally saying, “Enough is enough. We’re not gonna take it anymore.” After eight years of the Bush Administration and its warmongering, neo-conservative policies, we’re finally getting off our couches and desk chairs to do something other than preaching to the choir.

So where’s the confusion?