"The Occupy Wall Street initiative and the efforts it has spawned throughout the country are among the rare really hopeful signs that we might find a way to escape very dark times, not just the criminality and thuggishness that Wall Street has come to exemplify, but also… the vicious cycle that has been gaining strength for over 30 years, undermining the prospects for decent life for the large majority while spectacular riches are pouring into very few pockets, and the remnants of real democracy are being shredded by highly concentrated wealth and power. Ominous times, and it will become worse if people just watch passively."