Robin, as we see with people in power, they very quickly get a sense of entitlement. I can imagine slave owners being really angry if the slaves ran away. "I bought them fair and square. I OWN them. How dare they escape. Drag them back and whack them with the cat o nine tails. I'm not having this uppity behaviour."
People who own tax payers and a share of a government are like slave owners. They really don't see themselves as doing anything wrong. They are angry that they don't get more and even appreciation for the hard work they do "in government service". We taxpayers should genuflect to them and even admire them. They are certainly not slinking around on a guilt trip.
People on welfare see banksters and others as grabbing more than their share. Having no idea how economics and money work, they simply see government as not giving them their share. They know they can get a job but while they haven't, they don't see the money as a favour, but as their's by right and there should be a hell of a lot more of it.
When Greeks riot, go on strike, burn and attack, they want stuff, they are envious and angry. They are entitled. Americans might end up doing the same, but with much better armaments and a more inflated sense of entitlement.
If "the left" was only people who pay their own money and don't receive opm, I wonder how many there would be. If "the left" excluded people who don't have any income from doing work for governments, whether as contractors, teachers, doctors [their cartel is government-enforced and therefore part of the government], actual government employees, military, and hordes of others who get paid one way or another from government largess, welfare, pensioners etc, I wonder how many there would be left in your "moral imperative" category.
Even people who work and pay their way are imbued with envy to a large extent. It's called "keeping up with the Jones's". They work hard so they too can have a flash new car. They feel envious when they seen their neighbour driving by. It's not just bludgers and government recipients who feel envy.
Envy is a natural state. I remember as a child feeling envious of things people had. Our old Model A car was an embarrassment. We'd hide below the window line. My father was a reasonable man though and explained a few ideas to me which made perfect sense. So I was kind enough to pass the message on - buying a yellow Lada to park in the BP Oil International carpark among the BMW, Audi swanky cars and to collect the children from the international school among the Mercedes, BMW, Audi. It's quite a feeling of freedom to escape envy. I do like a nice car though and bought a new Camry which certainly travels much nicer than the old Lada - once I had surplus cash. I don't object to material objects and achievement.
Mqurice |
