Disclaimer: I don't have a problem with all rich people. After all, quite a few rich people, such as Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and the late Ray Charles have contributed much to the betterment of society. However, history and the current American climate, not youth, have impacted the way I feel about about rich people.
First, the most powerful rich people have proven themselves guilty of treason on numerous occasions. We see this when American CEOs close down a profitable business in the United States to re-open them in other countries. As a result, hard-working Americans are unemployed and emasculated, whilst our jobs are given to foreigners who don't even respect our country.
Also, under the free market, there is no democracy. When the people create it, the elitist destroys it if it deprives him of profit. We see this in 1953 when the people of Iran overthrew Shah Pahlavi and democratically elected an Ayatollah. And what happened? Because American elitists did great business with the Shah and was afraid of losing profit, they convinced their politicians to declare military action against Iran, exile the Ayatollah, and put the Shah back on the throne. Were the Iranians or the Ayatollah a threat against the American people? Absolutely not! To them, America was outside of their equation. Also, in 1973, Chilean rebels carried out a coup d'etat against the government, overthrowing their dictator, and Allende, a socialist, was democratically elected by the people. Well, naturally, any kind of socialist, even those that hate Communists, is a threat to an exploitative capitalist, so military action was declared on Chile, Allende was assassinated, another dictator was put in the power, and thousands of Chileans were killed in the process. No wonder so many people hate our country--because our capitalistic warmongers who keep whispering in the ears of the politicians! Just look at the Vietnam War; 58,000 soldiers were killed attacking a country that didn't give a darn about us. To add insult to injury, we didn't even win the war!
Second, I indict the elitists for being the worst hatemongers ever created. In just about ever country, the ethnic/religious minority has become the scapegoat whenever the powerful fail at their responsibilities in society or when the oppressed majority becomes restless. Throughout Europe for almost 1000 years, that scapegoat has been the Jew. When nobility or the well-off commoners notice that the people are coming close to knowing that the oppression of the rich are the source of their troubles, they immediately point to the Jews and trick the people into believing that the Jews were robbing them or eating their children. When people are desperate and uneducated, they will believe anything. As a result, the Jews were killed or exiled, and the tempers of the people were quenched.
Now for America. To be blunt, race is not a true identity. It is something invented by the rich to divide people. Just like in India's Mutiny of 1857, division is the oppressor's doorway. At first, there were just indentured servants in the American colonies--English and African. They worked side-by-side. They befriended each other, and they married each other and had children. Even though the rich masters made plenty of money from both types of slaves, they became worried. They knew that the servants outnumbered them, and that if they were ever to rebel, the masters would be doomed. Therefore, they called the European servants together and told them that even though they were poor and servants, they were as white as their masters and that they should not degrade themselves by associating with "sub-humans." Many of them were desperate enough to accept this false rise in status, which is why the masters could easily pass laws stating that non-Christian (and then later, even Christian) Africans would be slaves for life and that any child born from a slave would be a slave even if the father were European. After this, the masters pushed the lowly groups apart further by stating that any white person have sexual relations with a black would become a slave for life. This invention of race has pushed people apart for more than 300 years--even today--even though it has been losing its effect since the Civil Rights Movement.
Finally, I indict the elitist rich for being, and producing, the worst hypocrites to shame Christianity. Many so-called Christians are members of the Tea Party who are against increasing the taxes of the rich--even though the nation prospered when Clinton did this. They are against laws requiring piratical, dehumanizing insurance companies to provide affordable insurance to people with pre-existing conditions. They are in favor of cutting funding for social services and need-based programs. They are the ones who lay off hard-working Americans in order to outsource and make more profit. And then they give money to charities to keep them from starving, and then they go to church and pat themselves on the back for being good Christians! A better Christian would know that there are human lives at stake and then not put those below profit! Does not the Gospel say, "Those who do not do for the least of these did not do for Me"? When you abuse or expel a foreigner, you abuse or expel Christ. When you deny healthcare to a person who does not qualify for public programs, you are personally driving nails into the hands and feet of Christ. When you are wrongfully laying off a hard worker, you are denying Christ shelter and making Him starve. How then, could a rich exploiter or a member of the Tea Party know all of these things and still call themselves Christians?
In conclusion, this is why I blame the rich for the problems of this country. When a man has been overwhelmed with greed, he loses his heart and his soul. He cannot be peaceful since harmony does not satisfy his greed. He does not believe in equality or democracy for the same reasons. He cannot be a steward for the Lord as that would mean putting away his greed. In fact, the only time he goes to church is for business reasons and for the sake of fashion. Did Christ not say "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven" and "woe onto the rich..."? Why, the rich cannot even share; they just take. Just ask the owner of a mom-and-pop grocery store in a small town that is forced to close when a large supermarket opens and offers low prices. Ask a person who was kicked out of their own community because gentrifiers replaced old buildings with new ones that original residents could not afford. Ask a customer of T-Mobile who would have had to pay higher prices for lower-quality service if the government did not block AT&T's buyout. A true rich elitist cannot play fair; no, he cannot handle competition. Sure, many people become rich in this country through hard work. Regardless, he would not have become rich were it not for the hard work of others to make his ideas and efforts into a successful reality. A tribesman is not above his tribe. This rant is not against those rich who agree with this but with those who make themselves rich and then forget their humble roots. It is for those who believe in exploiting and belittling those they think are beneath them. And it is against those who eagerly pave the way for capitalistic exploitation. For all such people, God has a warning for them in Exodus 22:21-27. Am I saying it is wrong to be rich? Of course not. The Bible does not say "Money is the root of all evil" but "The love of money is root of all evil." After all you cannot love God and money just like you cannot love people and money. Money cannot share affections with others; it is very jealous. Also, the more you have, the more you owe to society. If you cannot share the good things you have and your fellow humans suffer, then you are responsible for their suffering and all related consequences.
Very well written article Devin.
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