I wrote the other day about Michael Moore calling older American voters racists but there is something beyond that statement I don’t understand about Mr. Moore and many like him.
Mr. Moore could be considered a part of the economic 1%. He is worth, by most estimates, somewhere in the area of $50 million and continues to make a considerable income from his films. I don’t criticize him for that, in fact, I think it’s quite an accomplishment and he should be congratulated for it, even if you don’t particularly care for his documentaries. What I don’t understand is why he isn’t celebrating his success and using it as an example to others on how they too can seize opportunity through hard work and effort.
Instead, Mr. Moore, along with a host of A-list celebrities, is out there telling young people and any one else who will listen that Americans are “slaves”, downtrodden and mistreated by the economically privileged, of which he is a member. In effect, he promotes class warfare rather than accomplishing success.
He is not alone.
There are more individuals making up the 1% who are in the entertainment industry and professional sports than are working on Wall Street. Even the left-leaning environmental movement has more than a couple of economic 1%ers and the Occupy movement receives support from people like billionaire George Soros and his Tides Movement.
Again, I don’t begrudge anyone the money they’ve earned or how they spend it. What I continue to fail to understand is why so many who have benefited from the opportunity our democracies have provided continue to speak out in support of the idea that people are slaves, oppressed and their rights are being stripped away.
Do the people protesting in cities across North America honestly believe that a Bill Gates, a Mark Zukerburg or a Steve Jobs; a Susan Sarandan or another celebrity could have risen from obscurity to become billionaires in places like North Korea, Syria or Iran? What right do they have to be telling the world that they live in a society that oppresses people and why aren't they telling those who feel oppressed about how to find the opportunities that are available to them?
Can those who have achieved no longer see that they only had that opportunity because they were free to pursue their careers, their hopes and aspirations in the democracies in which they live?
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| photo: gamefags.com |
A major league baseball pitcher recently signed a contract worth one quarter of a billion dollars over five years. The actors who voice The Simpson were recently asked to consider taking a pay cut from the half million they were being paid for each episode and A-list actors in Hollywood, some of whom drop by Occupy once in a blue moon, routinely make millions per flick.
How is it that so much individual success can generate so little encouragement to others and instead generates little more than a continuous stream of criticism of others who have made money? How is it that the Michael Moores, the Susan Sarandans and others like them aren’t out there telling people what a great country their country is and helping show people how to achieve success in their lives?
There was a time when that is exactly what happened but it is increasingly clear that time has passed. Now it is considered more trendy to bite the hand that has fed you and nobody takes greater delight in reminding those who are struggling how oppressed they are, than those who have benefited from the very society they now criticize for being oppressive.
Perhaps it is because they feel guilty for their wealth although I doubt it. Perhaps it is because they have discovered their success is relatively shallow and money, while nice to have, doesn’t really provide fulfillment and they are looking for some way to be socially relevant. Or, perhaps it is because they make money from the controversy they stir up and the profile they receive from that controversy.
Perhaps they are merely condescending, showing up once or twice to throw a few words of support to the masses, voice criticism in the media and then off to Cannes.
Whatever else it may be, it is hypocritical to stand up and declare that the very freedom of opportunity that gave them their success is the same that oppresses everyone else.
Many blame the banks and corporations for taking advantage of the poor but perhaps, at the end of the day, it isn’t just them. Perhaps, at the end of the day, the poor are being used by others to generate more money for their own purposes even as they cloak those purposes in a social cause to soothe their consciences. Perhaps hypocrisy is a greater enemy to the prosperity of individuals than greed or at the end of the day, perhaps hypocrisy and greed are merely opposite sides of the same coin.
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