Should we shout it loud and clear? Or whisper it among ourselves?
“Not all the rich are the enemy,” some will surely say.
“No shit, Sherlock,” is the well-worn reply.
During World War II, not every person in Germany was our enemy, and yet Germany was our enemy. The same can be said for Italy and Japan.
At times a group of people are thus defined and despite the obvious exceptions to the rule one must maintain a simplicity of concept so as to expedite the mission.
The rich are the enemy.
That is a fact.
Want better wages? Nope, the rich say you don’t deserve it. “See, the higher wages would simply be factored into the cost of the product and passed on to the customer.”
Want better health care? “Why? Americans have the best, most accessible health care in the world,” say the rich. “It’s not our fault that you can’t afford it.”
Want a more affordable education? “Pish posh, who needs an education anyway? Go to trade school. Learn to weld. Learn to drive a truck. That’s what America needs, not a bunch of liberal elite educated idiots.”
Need a better, safer retirement? “Hey, you should have thought of that while you were still working! It’s not our fault you made bad investments and didn’t save the money you never had in the first place. We paid you just enough to go into debt a little more slowly than you would have otherwise. You should be thankful to us that you had a job at all. After all, we are the job creators.”
Which is true.
Which is to say that the rich own the jobs.
And on and on it goes.
Is enemy too strong a word?
Perhaps, but it is short and sweet and to the point.
Are the rich really the enemy?
Yes. A thousand times yes. If you work for a living, and you want a better life, the one obstacle consistently standing in your way are the rich, a.k.a. Wall Street, a.k.a. big private banks, and big business, and their corporate lobbyists.
How do we defeat the rich?
By making a concerted effort to lessen their power, which ultimately translates into making them less rich.
And how, dear sir, do we do that?
Nobody fucking knows.