Editor
Sun Times
Chicago, IL
Dear Editor;
It is time to call our President and his administration to task. Their list of failures, mistakes, and arrogant postures we have endured pale in comparison to their colossal and fatal mishandling of the catastrophe in the gulf states, particularly in the city of New Orleans.
How ruthlessly blithe our President was to hand off such a critical federal position as FEMA Director to an unqualified friend. How arrogant his administration must be to witness a cataclysmic act of God, a disastrous and merciless razing of a historic port, an inhuman, lethal attack on Americans who were incapable of handling such widespread devastation, without acting instantly to preserve order, to prevent further destruction, to save lives and to present to Americans in the midst of unmitigated terror, a symbol of hope.
To point one’s finger at the local offices and claim that they had not filled out the proper forms, they had not made the correct calls—that is the height of insincerity. Calamitous acts of God are precisely the kinds of events in which a President should gather his staff, point to the weather channel, and order them to send help; it is precisely the kind of event that should precede an address to the Nation in which the President tells us, and the victims of such a disaster: help is on the way.
The neglect of this administration and their unfathomable incompetence in handling a disaster that they could see coming is not merely unforgivable--it was lethal. Lives were lost not just because of the flooding but because of unfulfilled expectations. In times of catastrophe we seek help from God, from our neighbors, and from the federal government. After Katrina, God was busy, the neighbors were drowning, and many worthy souls in New Orleans turned with confidence and hope toward Washington only to die waiting.
Sincerely;
Christopher Garlington
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Money CAN buy happiness
I used to hate the rich. I really don't know why I hated them and really deep down I think it was a cover up for raw resentment. It's true for everyone. We all want to be rich. We want it bad.
People who claim that money can't buy happiness have never tried to buy any happiness. Money can buy anything and that's why we often hate the rich. We're looking for that apparent power to do anything and if you examine that desire, the desire for the power of wealth, what you're really talking about is the desire for cessation of responsibility. You want to be able to wake up at ten, have a bellini, a cup of espresso, a caviar and smoked salmon omelet, and drive off in your new Mercedes smoking a Cohiba and getting a blow job while you look forward to your imminent flight to the Cayman's where you'll be checking on your latest island investment, counting your tax free money, and getting a blow job again.
Here's a secret. The rich have a similar fantasy. They fantasize about being incredibly poor, about waking up at ten, eating a piece of dry toast for breakfast, drinking some weak coffee, sitting on the couch in their Bulls sweats, and watching Oprah, and maybe in the afternoon sometime, wandering across the hall of your flea-bag Russian designed apartment complex, and trading cigarettes with your slutty neighbor for a blow job before heading off to their nigh shift as a janitor's assistant at Wal Mart.
The ultimate desire is total freedom. Our hatred of the rich and the rich's detestation of the poor comes from this shared desire. We see the ultra wealthy pull up to chic clubs and hop out of some 100,000 dollar car and we think "they've got it easy". The rich see the poor leaning against a car in the street laughing and say "man, they've got it easy".
Bullshit.
The few wealthy people I know got their wealth through exhausting effort. They work long hours and they stress out constantly about how they're going to keep it all together. The considerably larger group of relatively un-wealthy that I know make their way through exhausting effort, they work long hours and stress out about how they're going to keep it all together.
The big difference is: if the wealthy fuck up, they have somewhere to go. They have back up. They can get loans. When the wealthy really stress out, they can go to Cancun and have their toes sucked and drink high-end Scotch on the fucking beach under a full moon. When the wealthy get sick they can call up their doctor and the doctor will fedex them some nuclear zap pack and they'll be healthy again in two days or less. The poor just fucking die.
It's a big difference.
In this country, we have what it would take to eliminate gross poverty. We have what it would take to keep everyone healthy. We have what it would take to keep everyone fully educated. We have what it would take to make everyone happy. What would it take?
Money. And we've got it. But we refuse to spend it because we're think the only people getting the benefit are the poor and they've already got it made! Goddam poor! They don't have to work, they can watch Oprah all day! Why should I dole out my hard earned duckies for people who don't want to work cause we're already feeding them, housing them, and taking care of them?
Well, because when everyone in America has money, everyone in America gets money. When you take all the people who are unfit, unemployed, unhealthy and unhoused and you get them a job, a house, a doctor and an education, then you make them happy which makes them think more highly of themselves which causes them to opt for a better future which makes them work exhaustive hours and eventually allows them to earn wealth.
The more wealthy people there are, the more taxes we accrue which means the more people we can house, educate, employ and heal which builds more wealth which . . . you get it.
The cessation of responsibility I was talking about, the ultimate desire, is the real false desire. You can't live a real life without responsibility. As the wealthiest nation around, we have a responsibility to our people: we will house you, clothe you, feed you, educate you, employ you, heal you and encourage you in your efforts to realize whatever dreams you seek but at this simple cost: when you achieve those dreams or when you are comfortable in your trajectory toward wealth, take time to give back. Remember that you cannot and did not achieve wealth alone, that your money came from the people you walk with, the people you drive by. Ultimately, your wealth is not your own, not really, it's a trick of the mind. Real wealth is realized when you help others. Real wealth is reciprocal. Real wealth is compassion. Real riches are simple: a hand reaching out to a hand reaching out. The grasp of fraternity. Only when you devote yourself to responsibility, when you roll up your sleeves and work to free someone, to feed someone, to house, help, give hope to and heal someone, are you finally rich.
People who claim that money can't buy happiness have never tried to buy any happiness. Money can buy anything and that's why we often hate the rich. We're looking for that apparent power to do anything and if you examine that desire, the desire for the power of wealth, what you're really talking about is the desire for cessation of responsibility. You want to be able to wake up at ten, have a bellini, a cup of espresso, a caviar and smoked salmon omelet, and drive off in your new Mercedes smoking a Cohiba and getting a blow job while you look forward to your imminent flight to the Cayman's where you'll be checking on your latest island investment, counting your tax free money, and getting a blow job again.
Here's a secret. The rich have a similar fantasy. They fantasize about being incredibly poor, about waking up at ten, eating a piece of dry toast for breakfast, drinking some weak coffee, sitting on the couch in their Bulls sweats, and watching Oprah, and maybe in the afternoon sometime, wandering across the hall of your flea-bag Russian designed apartment complex, and trading cigarettes with your slutty neighbor for a blow job before heading off to their nigh shift as a janitor's assistant at Wal Mart.
The ultimate desire is total freedom. Our hatred of the rich and the rich's detestation of the poor comes from this shared desire. We see the ultra wealthy pull up to chic clubs and hop out of some 100,000 dollar car and we think "they've got it easy". The rich see the poor leaning against a car in the street laughing and say "man, they've got it easy".
Bullshit.
The few wealthy people I know got their wealth through exhausting effort. They work long hours and they stress out constantly about how they're going to keep it all together. The considerably larger group of relatively un-wealthy that I know make their way through exhausting effort, they work long hours and stress out about how they're going to keep it all together.
The big difference is: if the wealthy fuck up, they have somewhere to go. They have back up. They can get loans. When the wealthy really stress out, they can go to Cancun and have their toes sucked and drink high-end Scotch on the fucking beach under a full moon. When the wealthy get sick they can call up their doctor and the doctor will fedex them some nuclear zap pack and they'll be healthy again in two days or less. The poor just fucking die.
It's a big difference.
In this country, we have what it would take to eliminate gross poverty. We have what it would take to keep everyone healthy. We have what it would take to keep everyone fully educated. We have what it would take to make everyone happy. What would it take?
Money. And we've got it. But we refuse to spend it because we're think the only people getting the benefit are the poor and they've already got it made! Goddam poor! They don't have to work, they can watch Oprah all day! Why should I dole out my hard earned duckies for people who don't want to work cause we're already feeding them, housing them, and taking care of them?
Well, because when everyone in America has money, everyone in America gets money. When you take all the people who are unfit, unemployed, unhealthy and unhoused and you get them a job, a house, a doctor and an education, then you make them happy which makes them think more highly of themselves which causes them to opt for a better future which makes them work exhaustive hours and eventually allows them to earn wealth.
The more wealthy people there are, the more taxes we accrue which means the more people we can house, educate, employ and heal which builds more wealth which . . . you get it.
The cessation of responsibility I was talking about, the ultimate desire, is the real false desire. You can't live a real life without responsibility. As the wealthiest nation around, we have a responsibility to our people: we will house you, clothe you, feed you, educate you, employ you, heal you and encourage you in your efforts to realize whatever dreams you seek but at this simple cost: when you achieve those dreams or when you are comfortable in your trajectory toward wealth, take time to give back. Remember that you cannot and did not achieve wealth alone, that your money came from the people you walk with, the people you drive by. Ultimately, your wealth is not your own, not really, it's a trick of the mind. Real wealth is realized when you help others. Real wealth is reciprocal. Real wealth is compassion. Real riches are simple: a hand reaching out to a hand reaching out. The grasp of fraternity. Only when you devote yourself to responsibility, when you roll up your sleeves and work to free someone, to feed someone, to house, help, give hope to and heal someone, are you finally rich.
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