-Caveat Lector- ---------- Forwarded message ------- by Michael Parenti Bad housing and hunger are 'merely' material conditions only for people who do not experience them. For others, poverty is a daily misery of the spirit as well as the flesh, affecting the most intimate areas of life, one's sense of self-esteem and peace of mind, the equations of joy and sorrow in one's heart and mind. Even when times are not hard, millions living just above--or even well above--the poverty level carry on with little sense of security or satisfaction, feeling that the human content of their lives has been constricted by money concerns and the grinding joylessness of material struggle. Class oppression also dehumanizes the spirit of the rich, often teaching them elitism, exclusivity, acquisitiveness, insensitivity towards the needy, and hatred for anyone who challenges their privileges. But affluence has its undeniable rewards. It has a way of cushioning things and making life much easier. While we are told that the rich are not any happier than anyone else and sometimes unhappy with their lot, there are few recorded cases of people abandoning their fortunes for a life of wage labor. At the very least, money makes it easier to escape the many miseries and anxieties that are caused by the lack of money. Wealth provides the best life chances, the best opportunities for education, travel, leisure, recreation, spacious living, lavish accomodations, an array of commodious services, the finest health care, superior access to influential social contacts, political careers, celebrity, favored institutional positions, and special protection by the law and from the law. As measured by those standards, the rich live far better than everyone else. Money is no guarantee of happiness, but helps. When asked why he bought a six million dollar home while the state he represents is one of the poorest in the nation, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia replied, "I don't think in the scheme of things--big house, little house, middle-size house--it makes a whole lot of difference. What I do know is that it brings me great happiness already." The affluent know they live extraordinarily well and they want to keep it that way. In December 1991, a White House spokesperson announced that George and Barbara Bush would continue their long standing policy of not exchanging Christmas gifts: "They have everything they need and anything they want they can get." President Bush a multimillionaire, denounced those in Congress who advocated increasing taxes on the very rich: "You kind of remind me of the old definition of the Puritan, who couldn't sleep at night worrying that somehow someone somewhere was out having a good time." At least Bush was admitting that members of his class have a "good time." Such comments represent a refreshing departure from the usual professions about how the rich are burdened by their fortunes. The conservative view would have us ignore the linkage between spiritual and material conditions, positing the spiritual as something 'above' the material, something that helps us overcome our material hardships. A succession of millionaire US presidents, wallowing in opulence, have admonished us to hold firm to our 'spiritual heritage.' The New York Times reported that President Reagan called for a 'spiritual revival.' In doing so, he seemed to treat the 'American spirit' as something floating above history, untouched by plundering corporations, regressive taxes, poverty wages, inflation, unemployment, and the destruction of third world countries by US forces. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason, and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, accept it and live up to it."-The Buddha DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
