Isn't it ironic that as the US tries to stand up to regimes like in Syria, Iran, and North Korea, among other countries, by calling them "dictatorial" and crushing of basic human rights, our own streets are filled with police crushing grassroots protests against basic and obvious injustices in our society.

It's such an obvious bit of being two faced that it damages the U.S. credibility as a legitimate voice for peaceful, human rights based democracy.

I know that the protest camps are not a panacea and are riddled with problems. But so are slums and other poor neighborhoods, and while many of these are subject to overpolicing, haven't received the concentrated police over reactions that we have seen ordered against the Occupy protesters.

I just don't see the need for the massive forces of riot like police using heavy handed tactics to clear out these people. What is it about these folks that scares these big city mayors?

There is no doubt that the message about the injustice in the way that wealth is distributed in our country is well based. It's just that politicians are getting their money from the rich and they don't want to stick their necks out to stop it.

But I had written many weeks ago that one of the turning points of the movement would be how they would react as city governments across the country decided to clear them out of their occupations. While there have been some reactions, like those in NYC and Oakland, overall, how the movement reacts is still to be seen in longer range terms. I think that this has yet to be perfected, but may actually end up defining whether the movement fades away or grows.

We are at an interesting, critical, and maybe even dangerous point in the history of country. We can listen to the voices of the little men and women out there telling the truth, or we can ignore it and go on in our greed and ignorance. But that is a recipe for disaster and the ripping apart of our country. Unfortunately, most of the politicians, and even the supreme court judges, are way too bought off by the corporate way of thinking and in many cases their money. There is little chance of any kind of radical change happening quickly enough to ward off societal clashes. And that worries me.

It's like in Syria, where they keep shooting people and the protests keep growing. Even in the U.S., the sentiments are not going to be erased by riot police - in fact, they will only be made to grow stronger. That will result in increased resolve, which will mean more confrontation. It's not a good cycle. It would be better if we fairly and peacefully resolved our differences. Don't see it happening though.