Taking Over The Street In DC

The first time Jason Morris visited Washington, D.C., he was 11 years old and there to see the Korean War Veterans Memorial. The second trip, which he made last week, was to take part in a national protest.

Morris added New London to the roster of cities at the Occupy Congress event. Part of the continuing Occupy Wall Street protest, the Occupy Congress gathering was organized as a rebuke of some aspects of American politics.

“It’s winter. It was cold, it was wet. Those parts weren’t fun," said Morris. "But the feeling of coming together with other people who feel the same as you do about something that is greater than us, it’s making a change like we want, is going to affect more than just me, my wife, my kids, my friends."

Morris is a network engineer who works at Naval Submarine Base New London. He spent 10 years on active duty with the Navy, and remains a member of the Navy Reserve.

Morris went to the capital on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, going to the encampment at McPherson Square. He said the main event of the protest was a march that went to the Capitol Building, White House, and Supreme Court. He said other groups tried to visit the offices of congressional representatives to speak about their concerns.

One of the highlights of the event, Morris said, was seeing the people participating in the march stretching along the National Mall.

“I’ve never protested in any march or anything like that where we’ve been able to take the streets,” he said.

Morris said he felt the Occupy Wall Street movement has several concerns, but that it has started to focus most on the issues of corporate personhood and campaign finance reform.

“I do believe that the sum of many people being greedy equals big problems for a lot of people,” he said.

Morris was at the event through Wednesday. He said another event at the capital will take place on March 30, and that he hopes to attend that and some events in New York City.

“The changes we need we feel are for the good of the country, of the entire world, if these things get made,” he said.