Does the Occupy Wall Street movement really share common ground with the Tea Party?

Yes, there is common ground, in that both of these grass-root movements are dissatisfied with the way the government is running the country. Nobody wanted bail-outs but politicians gave-out bail-outs ... politicians are no longer listening to the people, they are listening to interest groups and lobbyists. I do think everyone sees this - the differences I believe appear, when it comes to talking about how we should fix our problems.

I am happy at least that most of us are coming to realize that our governments are failing. Now, we have to figure-out how to make them work in a responsible manner. I have faith that we can make it work.

The tea bag movement is a combination of nationalists and businessmen. They were given the limelight by moguls such as the Koch brothers and Fox News specifically because they were misguided protestors who were susceptible to manipulation by the very powers they were supposed to be fighting against. I already remember the "Get your hands off my medi-care" signs.In the end they failed to gain mainstream acceptance because their grievances were exclusively right-wing.

OWS shares only one thing with this movement. They are both protests. OWS is important because it is a stand against a problem that is neither left-nor-right.

Corruption in politics. It's a movement that taps into the heart of America's biggest political problem; corporate financing of elections. This is an issue that everyone is familiar with, and one that stands a good chance of changing should this movement grow.

Everyone in America who wants to see an end to the corporate takeover of their government should be in support of OWS. @TheRisingGloryI am sorry that the American education system has failed to teach you the basics of wealth distribution. Your tax money is being distributed whether you like it or not.

The only question is whether you want it to go to the haves, or the have nots.

The common ground is that both the OWS movement and the Tea Party started out as grassroots expressions of dissatisfaction with the political and economic system as it is today. The OWS movement has tapped a far deeper root than the Tea Party. The OWS movement has a global reach.

The Tea Party adopted the narrow agenda of the three billionaires who sponsored it. It remains to be seen which way the OWS movement will go. It does not serve the interests of those in power to have a real successful third or fourth party.

The best way to shut a grassroots movement down is to control it. I hope the OWS movement does not share that ground with the Tea Party.

No, the Tea Party, whether you agree with them or not, have a clear agenda, understand the history of the USA, want nothing of the government except to reduce it's size and get out of their life. The OWC crowd are looking for wealth redistribution. 33% are willing to take from those who have by force if necessary.

They are destructive leaving the parks of NY in shambles and primarily don't care about anything except what they can get.

Let’s see, 10 thousand disingenuous ultra Right Wingers whos only agenda is to oust the current president. Millions of people of all ages, colors, economic classes and political views who want the economy's economic balance restored. I don’t see any similarity.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.