Rich People Suck

I will never be a rich man.

That may appear to be sour grapes, but it is a statement of fact nonetheless.

I cannot imagine having so much money that I am unable to give most of it away to those who need it more than I. That is not really an issue at the present time, since I am among lower 10% of the economic biomass of the USA. But, if that situation ever changes, however far-fetched that may seem today, I am confident that it will not last very long. I am morally incapable of retaining wealth in the presence of poverty.

It is a sad fact that not everyone feels that way.

Greed is not a word you hear very much anymore. At least not in negative terms. Amercians seem to be proud of their greed, as though it were a right granted by the constitution.

It no longer surprises me that the rest of the world hates us.

I feel like the protagonist in Falling Down, when he finds himself in the sights of a retiring police detective, and he looks around and realizes that he is not the righteous innocent victim of society that he always thought he was. "I'm the bad guy..."

We are the bad guys, people. All of us. Everyone who supports the "American Dream" in all its gas-guzzling, SUV-driving, chain-smoking, cheeseburger-munching, Nike-wearing, two-car-garage-ranch-style ultra-consumer glory.

WE are destroying the rain forests and the ozone layer.

WE are killing off more species than the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs.

WE are responsible for the famines and plagues - the deaths of millions of innocent people.

Why is it our fault? Because we have the power to do something to stop it, and we don't.

Your black hats are on order.

Myself, I'm thinking about moving to Canada...