Last blog I touched on winners and losers and how "this is what makes America Great" according to some of our more conservative brethren. We all know people who support political ideologies that run contrary to their own best interest. I've always come up short trying to understand that... Well, gather around because I get it now, and now I'm gonna give it to you:
Why are people who will never make $100k/year willing to board buses and protest when earners of $250K + are threatened with a tax increase? They will tell you: "Someday I expect to be in that bracket, and I don't want to pay those high taxes" .
Why are unemployed people with no health insurance willing to shout at town hall meetings that they "don't want government taking over health care"?
It's the winners/losers modality, and it's always running in the background.
Suggestion: listen to John Mellencamp's Little Pink Houses while you read the rest of this.
To say "Hey, I'm struggling here, and me and my family could use some help" is to paint yourself a loser in the eyes of many. Maintaining the illusion that someday you'll be rich (and have the problems of the rich) is worth the cost.
Why are some people so resentful that the government assists people who are down and out? Because they're LOSERS! If they were worthwhile, they wouldn't need help. They would pull themselves up by their bootstraps and become WINNERS!
I don't have answers for this, it's just an observation that came together for me this week. I WILL say there must be a better way to run a society...
I'll have to share this one with my dad. Several years ago he sent in a letter to the editor of his local paper asking why people blindly followed an ideology even if it wasn't in their best interests. You've answered it right there. And it STILL doesn't make sense. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteThere I go again - expecting people to make SENSE.
Yesterday I heard on the business news that employers were interested in hiring people that already had jobs rather than someone that got laid off. Guess what the thinking is? The lay-off is a loser, the person employed is a WINNER!
ReplyDeleteCircumstances be damned!
Once again, Cubil, you express my thoughts. It is uncanny! I grieve that people take so much for granted - and the simple idea of sharing is so vilified. Is it so hard to realize that making the world better for a lot of people makes it better for everyone? How about public school? How about Medicare. OK, I'll go to my room and cry now.
ReplyDelete