There's a distinct difference between just loving oneself and loving one's country, yet it appears as if the wealthiest among us, as well as the most conservative of politicians, have been able to increasingly blur those lines over the past several years.
For some strange reason, when a wealthy or powerful person loudly declares that they love this country or that it's the country in the world, people tend to respond, "They're such good, patriotic Americans! Nobody loves this country more than they do!" However, as the old saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words," and their actions tend to tell a different story.
The extremely wealthy, and many far-right conservative politicians for that matter, live in a different world than most of us. They may all have loved this country at one point, but in their minds, they've made it, so now they can afford to stop looking after the country and simply just look after themselves. Many even deny the help (or breaks) they've received along the way to get to where they are, claiming they "built that" all by themselves, when that's never actually the case (well, unless one believes the story of God and he, she, or it in fact God).
Even though most of these people were afforded great educational opportunities, where do such politicians tend to propose their first spending cuts? Education. Environmental concerns seem to be minimal. The idea of raising the minimum wage often times gets greeted with the notion that it will drive companies out of business. The homeless get progressively pushed further and further away from society. Such politicians have no problems sending soldiers to war, but do have problems taking care of them when they return home. Improving our infrastructure is of little importance, as is improving our healthcare system. Prison reform may get discussed (as well as drug laws), but action doesn't seem to follow that talk. Also, the notion that the wealthiest among us should see their taxes decrease at the expense of the middle- and lower-classes, in addition to permitting them to spend countless dollars to influence elections, goes to further illustrate that most such individuals truly just care about themselves and only themselves.
It's simply not enough for a person to say they love this country and that it's the very best. If a person truly loves their country, they'll want to see it continue to prosper. They'll want to see education improve, not be cut. They'll want to see the environment in better shape for our children's future, along with our healthcare system, and infrastructure. They'll want to help this country continue to move forward by aiding it with the dollars needed to assure that, which was a key reason for them finding their success in the first place. As far as I'm concerned, these extremely wealthy individuals and far-right conservative politicians are simply telling the country this:
"Through the aid of others, this great country afforded us the opportunity to succeed at the highest level, and because of that, we think this is the greatest country in the world. However, we got ours, so you get yours, and without our help. That's right, f**k all of you! Oh, and God bless America!"
For some strange reason, when a wealthy or powerful person loudly declares that they love this country or that it's the country in the world, people tend to respond, "They're such good, patriotic Americans! Nobody loves this country more than they do!" However, as the old saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words," and their actions tend to tell a different story.
The extremely wealthy, and many far-right conservative politicians for that matter, live in a different world than most of us. They may all have loved this country at one point, but in their minds, they've made it, so now they can afford to stop looking after the country and simply just look after themselves. Many even deny the help (or breaks) they've received along the way to get to where they are, claiming they "built that" all by themselves, when that's never actually the case (well, unless one believes the story of God and he, she, or it in fact God).
Even though most of these people were afforded great educational opportunities, where do such politicians tend to propose their first spending cuts? Education. Environmental concerns seem to be minimal. The idea of raising the minimum wage often times gets greeted with the notion that it will drive companies out of business. The homeless get progressively pushed further and further away from society. Such politicians have no problems sending soldiers to war, but do have problems taking care of them when they return home. Improving our infrastructure is of little importance, as is improving our healthcare system. Prison reform may get discussed (as well as drug laws), but action doesn't seem to follow that talk. Also, the notion that the wealthiest among us should see their taxes decrease at the expense of the middle- and lower-classes, in addition to permitting them to spend countless dollars to influence elections, goes to further illustrate that most such individuals truly just care about themselves and only themselves.
It's simply not enough for a person to say they love this country and that it's the very best. If a person truly loves their country, they'll want to see it continue to prosper. They'll want to see education improve, not be cut. They'll want to see the environment in better shape for our children's future, along with our healthcare system, and infrastructure. They'll want to help this country continue to move forward by aiding it with the dollars needed to assure that, which was a key reason for them finding their success in the first place. As far as I'm concerned, these extremely wealthy individuals and far-right conservative politicians are simply telling the country this:
"Through the aid of others, this great country afforded us the opportunity to succeed at the highest level, and because of that, we think this is the greatest country in the world. However, we got ours, so you get yours, and without our help. That's right, f**k all of you! Oh, and God bless America!"
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