We all wonder, from time to time, “just what is it that’s going on in that person’s head?” We’ll probably never know for sure, of course, but our native sense of empathy is supposed to help us get a clue. Some folks are so low in self-awareness and so mentally undisciplined that they’d be just as curious as us to find out.
From time to time, in order to explain some social attitude to myself, I run a silent narrative in my head from the other person’s imagined point of view. Some attitudes are fairly pervasive and so, have strong social consequences: not intrinsically good or bad – just significant.
Here’s one I jotted down recently. Tell me what you think:
“I am young, cultured, refined and sensitive. I don’t admire competition or people who engage in business. The military, to me, are mercenary killers used by evil profiteers to make war on dark-skinned people with peculiar languages and cultures. I see poverty as the result of a predatory, selfish business culture.
As a result, the lower half of American society remains a victim of historical injustice and will have to be maintained by our government. For this to happen, the rich perpetrators of social injustice will have to endure high taxation and societal scorn. Since the most visibly prosperous are white American males, their activities must be curbed by any means possible.
Prosperity means victimization. LIberty is only for those rich enough to enjoy it. It’s a power concept used to trick the poor and middle class into hoping for a better life that cannot be honestly attained. Lenin said “Freedom is want.” I agree.
You people make me sick.”
