I take offense at the barage of insults being hurled in Herman Cain's direction. It's high-time such prejudice was erased from our society. I, for one, would be proud to see the first President to come from the pizza community.
Except that I think Mr. Cain is rather dense.
His statement that the Wall Street protestors should blame themselves if they're not rich is, for lack of a better term, retarded.
First of all, the Occupy Wall Street people aren't protesting because they're not rich. They're protesting because they believe that too many people don't have access to the basic necessities. They blame this on a failure of democracy.
Second, they're not protesting because they want hand-outs. They're protesting because they merely want the opportunity to provide for themselves and, unfortunatley, the Capitalist system isn't the free-market fair-competition that it's advertised as.
Lastly, and most importantly, not everyone even wants to be rich.
Many people find that the excess labor required in pursuing extreme wealth is not worth the sacrifice in lifestyle, such as the loss of time spent with family or friends.
Beware the barrenness of a busy life.
- Socrates
Other people might choose not to go for the big money because they feel that most of the work that brings one riches, such as working on Wall Street, is not the type of work that contributes beneficially to society. They would rather do something more righteous, but less profitable, like teaching or nursing.
A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.
- Gautama Siddharta (the Buddha)
Still, other folks might feel that being rich is inherently immoral, no matter how one comes about their wealth. They feel that to have too much while others have too little is morally wrong. These people believe that we should all live simply so that others may simply live.
What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul.
- Jesus Christ
Unfortunately, when a rich person assumes that everyone else wants to be wealthy like them, they see themselves as the winners of a universal competition. This justifies, in their eyes, both their monopolizing of common resources and their undue political influence.
Again, however, this is all predicated on the incorrect assumption that everyone wants to be rich.
Considering that the people who wilfully choose to reject conspicuous consumption also, by definition, are the ones most likely to exhibit the four Cardinal Virtues, such as temperance and justice, it is sad that they are not also the ones who preside over our society.
Instead, our political leaders are those who believe, like Herman Cain, that great wealth makes great people.
