Pride, first thing a hungry person eats
Did a lot of door knocking in 2012. One conversation stands out.
It was in a tony area of Apple Valley. A man stood in his driveway looking over his estate as it were.
He was older. As the conversation got underway he indicated he was a former 3M high level regional sales manager. Being a former 3M employee myself we had a little common ground.
Didn’t take long before he set off on a tirade about what his accountant told him was the transgression of the tax system favoring the poor.
He went on for maybe two minutes, the poor are this, the poor are that, the poor are wrecking the country.
And when he’d blown his steam and finally left room for a counterpoint I told him this:
“Sure, we could cut out all those social programs, stop the food stamps, defund the housing subsidies and yield to the demands of the put upon wealthy.
And when the cuts were in place the poor would be breaking into his fine home and stealing all his nice stuff. Afterall, the first thing a hungry person eats is their pride. He’s getting off cheaper this way by supporting those programs”
He gave me a long look. Pretty sure now his argument and lament had lost their legs, let alone any legitimacy. He turned and walked back toward his finely appointed home. Probably to stroke the fine possessions therein.
There are some things that remain true each and every day we breath.
- Truth is the first victim in war.
- By definition half the population is below average [median] and our only hope is to raise the average [median].
- And the first thing a hungry person eats is their pride.
For all their complaining the wealthiest among us are getting off cheap. Cut off the electricity, food and water and we’ll quickly realize we aren’t that far away from the caves from which we emerged.
Money may get what money wants, but hunger has a greater drive.
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