class warfare | Barry Kelly | Facts and Fictions

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by Barry Kelly | December 5, 2011 · 7:14 pm

INSIGHTS FROM EIGHT DECADES #4

A do nothing Congress. A Grid lock approach to problem solving. An increasing use of class warfare slogans. Where is all this going? Surely this is not the American Promise. What happened to the ‘Land of Opportunity’, ‘The Melting Pot‘, ‘One Republic for All’, ‘The Great Democracy’, and many more hopeful descriptions of the United States of America? Are they being dissolved in the rhetoric of ‘Class Warfare’ and ideological purity? Reading the newspapers, listening to the political speeches from the left and right and the news coverage of the network and cable news TV you would think so. Even the President never fails to bring issues of class warfare to the front as he campaigns incessantly. Presidential candidates are examined under the microscope of political purity rather than the question can this person lead us out of our current doldrums of economic stagnation and political ineptness.

Divisions in our political parties have grown sharper. Movement of the Republicans to the right and of the Democrats to the left has dramatically decreased the possibility of the conflicting parties reaching compromise solutions on nearly all of our critical problems. The political center is under represented, in practical terms, maybe non-existent. Describing this situation as national suicide in the name of partisan purity is becoming more correct with each legislative impasse.

Since class warfare is the oldest and most prominent divisive force in terms of human civilization, with the possible exception of tribalism, which includes many of the same motives, let’s start our move toward an escape from political fratricide with a look at the motives of class warfare. The basic motive in class warfare is for one segment of the population that represent the ‘have nots’ to take away some the privileges and wealth of the other group representing the ‘haves’ until everyone has an equal share. This ideology has always worked from the premise that the amount of wealth in any society is fixed. To give the ‘have nots’ more, wealth must be taken from the ‘haves’. The followers of the class warfare theory have always rejected the opposing premise that wealth is expandable and a greater share for the ‘have nots’ can come from created wealth. This sharing of wealth premise depends on equal opportunity for each individual to have a chance of improving their relative position in their society. Leveling the playing field does not mean there will not be winners and losers. It means everyone has a chance for a bigger share of the community’s wealth. The level of success each individual achieves depends on ability, hard work, and a degree of luck.

To move away from the dangers of a national class warfare struggle, we must all help change the metrics of the debate. Reject the slogans and sound bites of one class against another, including the rantings that the ‘middle class’ must be the recipient of all things. Recognize that there is an inequality of performance in striving for material gain and that in the field of life, as in the field of sports there are winners and those who lose. Reassert that wealth and material holdings are only one measure of success among many. Search for areas of agreement in solving problems and settling disputes. Work on personal tolerance of other viewpoints. Constantly work for improving the field of equal opportunity, understanding there will always be different levels of success.

INSIGHTS FROM EIGHT DECADES #3

Individual freedom and justice are the two pillars upon which our system of government has been built. From those two pillars come the rule of law and individual freedom. I believe what we were in the 1600’s and what we are now is due to the freedom of individuals to seek their own destiny. America is a great nation, the greatest nation in the history of the world. We are not a great because off what our early settlers brought with them but rather because of what they left behind in Europe and Asia.
Our black citizens from Africa never had the same opportunity. Whatever impediments to progress and individual freedom they left behind, they found no advantages here. They did not get off the slave ships into a land of individual freedom and opportunity for them. Instead they found slavery and slavery is as far from individual freedom as you can get. Their freedom did not begin until after the Civil War.
For others, the cultures, rulers and religions their ancestors sailed away from did not recognized the individual as the basis of society. Conformity to the culture and religion and obedience to the monarch was the code to survival. No where was empowerment of the individual encouraged or tolerated. The genius and drive of the individual to build nations and raise masses of people above the poverty level was never unleashed in Europe or Asia when America was being settled. The concept of equality in Europe, Asia and most of the rest of the world is based on everyone ending up with their fair and equal share of the nation’s wealth. To achieve those goals Individual Exceptionalism is discouraged.
In those lands, equality is achieved by pulling down or penalizing individual success for the good of the many, instead of encouraging the general up lifting of society. The Fabian Socialists, until now mostly in Europe, would argue that approach is simply sacrificing the few for equality of the many. This approach has not worked so far, but its adherents seem to have difficulty recognizing the lessons of history and the costly record in human terms of centralized social engineering from the left or right.
And so today, we are embarked on another quest to level the playing field. Instead,equal opportunity for all citizens is what we need to accomplish, recognizing that equal opportunity does not mean everyone gets an equal share of earned wealth. We all have different levels of ability, motivation, discipline and luck. To have true individual freedom, we must let those factors play out with little or no meddling by bureaucratic centralists with the best of intentions.
It is the people who built this great nation. Not as directed by the government, but by the individual efforts and sacrifices of millions and millions of Americans striving to improve themselves and the country they lived in. For sure, America has natural resources, a good climate and a protected strategic location. But those are not the reasons we are and can remain a great Nation. Greatness is from the work of a proud and free people. Enjoy and protect.