Simple Truth: Personal Wealth is not the same as Personal Worth

Complaining about "the rich" is worthless, complain, rather, about the idle.

Illustration: Dale Carnegie.  Norman Rockefeller.  By today's standards, these men would be hated and castigated for their wealth.  Indeed, History books today try to turn them into evil men who oversaw the virtual slavery of hundreds.  Yet these men did more for our current society than all the Paris Hiltons, Sean Penns, and Danny Glovers combined.

Explanation: When we talk about "the rich" or "the poor" we're normally talking about net value in assets.  Someone like Donald Trump is rich, someone like yours truly is roughly "middle class," and someone on welfare is thought of as "poor."  However, that does not- and cannot, for a variety of reasons- take into account mental/non-actuarial assets.  It cannot take into account your intelligence and education or your drive and dedication.

In an ideal America, there would be little or no barrier to entry to the "upper class."  The only barrier to wealth would be your own aptitudes and attitudes.  Now, this ideal America is impossible, simply because the world does not work that way.  However, we have gone so far from that ideal that most people can't even imagine it, anymore.  They know that stories like those of Richard Sears or (in more modern times) Bill Gates are factually true, but they simply cannot imagine- in any realistic way- themselves accomplishing anything similar.  They have been taught -indoctrinated, really- that the Rich are the Rich and the Poor are the Poor, and only rare, quasi-magical exceptions can change one's station.

This, of course, goes against almost all of American History- and certainly ignores even modern facts on the ground.  Wealth is accumulated over a life-time, in most cases.  The elderly, as a demographic, hold much more wealth per capita than the young- and this simply makes sense: they've had more time to accumulate wealth.  Indeed, there are some born to wealth, but you will find- with few exceptions- that these "trust fund babies" (as they were called for so long) usually fall into one of two groups: those who learned the lessons of frugality and industry, and the "elites."

You almost never hear about the ones who actually learned to be productive.  A cynical man (hey! That's me!) would say because it doesn't "fit the narrative" of the independently affluent as mooches and vampires on society.  Someone less cynical would say it's simply because their lives are not "news worthy" and they are rather boring.  In either case, we have ceased raising them up as examples to emulate, and replaced them with vapid, entitled, worthless creatures who no more understand the word "duty" than they understand what poverty really means.

The fact is, however, that the worth of the worthy is not in their wealth- it is in their industry, and drive, and determination.  By corollary, the poor are not worthy simply because of their poverty.  Neither are they mooches or vampires simply because of their poverty.  What determines whether someone is a host or a parasite is the same for the poor as it is for the wealthy.  Industry, frugality, drive, determination, character, honor, faithfulness- all the virtues we used to laud and seem to have forgotten.

Indeed, by practicing these virtues, the poor will generally find that they can lift themselves out of poverty.  Their virtue will reward them, and those dependent upon them.  It is still possible in America to become the next mega-millionaire: through hard work.

But Liberals would have you believe this is all a lie.  They would have you believe that, in normal circumstances, the only thing standing between the poor and utter desolation is the all beneficent government.  They enable the parasites, and hamper the hosts, and then change the discussion from one of worth to one of wealth.  It is easy, in such circumstances, to see why the poor feel resentment toward the rich.

It is our job to reset the conversation on the correct foundation.

What have you done, of worth, today?