Me:
Equality of opportunity means you give everyone the same choices starting out. Equal education, healthcare, basic safety net. After that you are on your own. Go squander your education or run with it. Freeing people up from having to worry about medical bills or being on the street if their company goes bust is what allows people to accomplish awesome things. Otherwise only those with great wealth to begin with can free themselves of those worries. Yet you find that disagreeable. I'm not talking about giving everyone gold plated health insurance or a free car to drive. If you are worried that America is on that path though, fear not. America is the only advanced country where it actually does matter who your parents are, what income bracket you were born into, or if you have health problems. Our safety nets have so many holes in them that entire swaths of our citizens and their children live in poverty and are malnourished. So don't get upset at us progressives for talking like this, because America is a lot more like the world you say you want to live in vs. the one I'm talking about. It's more of a myth now to hear stories about someone who was poor and struck it rich. America loves this story though. Because everyone in America is convinced that they will someday be rich. That's why we love rich people because that could be us someday. That's why tax cuts for the wealthy are so popular. Everyone thinks they will be rich, so why would they vote to increase their future taxes? It's an awesome and effective deception. But we don't live in that world. We are all different and most of us are just average. It's good to remember that our world was created by people who were no smarter than us though, and that is why we need equal opportunity so that we as a people can continue on with this great experiment to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
His response:
I know many people who began in poverty and are now much higher on the economic ladder. Simply because you don't know anyone who had capabilities to succeed beyond their beginning economic status does not negate their existence. You, sir, live with a Utopian vision of a money free existence where everyone busts their ass for the sake of feeling good. How much SOMA would it take to calm the masses into such a vision?
America IS a land where one can succeed if one has the desire, the drive, and the requisite ability.
My father in law, for one, began his life in and out of foster care because his mother had trouble taking care of her four older children. When he left home before eighteen it was with $50 that he had saved from working and that he managed to keep from being stolen by his own family.
Now he makes that much every 15-20 minutes. He had no lucky breaks or silver spoon or connections of any kind and he made it because it IS possible in America.
That is the beauty of my country. If you try, you have the possibility of exceptional advancement.
There are tradeoffs in such a society. I know my father-in-law feels awkward going back to where he grew up. He is more successful than anyone else in his neighborhood. Some even demand money from him so he doesn't go back too often. There is transparent resentment over his success.
I find it difficult to see such a man and then to see a diatribe such as yours written by someone with the same possibilities for success.
Before I knew him, I thought I would remain in the same economic stratum as my parents, which is what something like 90% of the population does. Instead, I now understand that determination is what's needed. Determination and ability, which can be learned, as long as you're honest with yourself and position your career so that it's moving forward.
I work long hours and have travelled extensively for work. I am a platinum elite member of Marriott and I've got a lot of air miles stored up.
I've put close to 35,000 miles on my car in one year and I begin my work days at 6 AM and end at 5:30-9 PM. I spend my free time playing with my family, educating myself about the industry, working out, watching my Cowboys lose, and sleeping.
I've lost patience for people that I grew up with that had the same advantages yet squandered everything. Now, they demand "fairness" and "equality" because they can't get work after spending time in jail or because they chose to teach English in Barbados during their twenties.
I have to go now. Today, I'm weightlifting, then grocery shopping, then getting my kid to her overpriced daycare where she learns English, Spanish and, as of June, Mandarin. Then I'll write a dozen reports, which will take only today if I'm lucky. Ill then cook dinner, watch television with my wife, put my kid to bed, work some more, then go to sleep between 9 and 10. Tomorrow ill be up at 5:30 AM starting the whole thing again.
Keep your ideals of a stress free, money provided existence. In the world we actually live in, I'm proud of my accomplishments and I look forward to more.
Then in another post, this guy laid out what his plans are for his future:
I think you're underestimating nationwide anger at Obama. In any case, I'm gun shopping and I have a Costco membership. My family will be okay in the case of an anti-Christian soulless liberal dictatorship headed by King Barack and Queen Michele. The soul of America must be fought for but I'm hedging myself against the possibility that we continue supporting Islamo-Fascism, Race Card politics, nationwide infrastructure erosion, and idiot welfare policies.
My Dad's right. When I've made my millions, we'll campaign together, creating a new Independant Party with the pragmatism of Teddy Roosevelt, the drive of James Polk, and the political savvy of Lincoln.
The dude really pissed me off and he is a total asshole, but the point of his attacking me was...I don't know what. The guy is my age, yet he thinks like this. Boy, his dad must have been a total asshole too. Sounds like he was if he came from the poorer neighborhoods and had to deal with all that crap. And I don't blame his dad for being an asshole because that is what he probably had to be just to survive in that environment. Two points here. I don't really care about his dad, and I also think that it's insane that in America today we still have to have areas of the country that are mired in poverty. WHAT the fuck is that all about?? Anyways, he seemed to believe that the changes I was proposing would turn us all into lazy loafs. Uh, no you fucking idiot. I'm not proposing we go to some fucking ass backwards collective like Communist China during Mao. Those people did nothing because they wouldn't get rewarded for doing more. That's fucking retarded. How the fuck do these idiots form their worldview? I propose that the field is tilted back towards being slightly favorable to Main Street, and suddenly I'm this moron. Go fuck off, pal. Why come to the conclusion that I'm some jobless hippy fuck just because I'm saying that there is some gross inequality going on. I think that if you look at what I'm saying, I would probably INCREASE this douche's chances of getting wealthy and making his goals because the changes I am urging would throw out all the scheming and rotten douche bag bankers, executives, and lawyers that are currently sitting at the top and kicking everyone else in the face. But this fuck nut doesn't get it. Maybe he is one of those douche bag idiots, and if we clear out all those assholes, then his chances really would go down the drain. Acutally, as I was reviewing the Facebook posts for this blog, I learned that the guy works in the fossil fuel extraction business, and almost all of those folks seem to think that any changes to the status quo = doom for everyone. So that does make him part of the problem, not because he is working on something that provides me with fuel that I need, but that he seems to think that his efforts are the only way forward. Well, too bad for you, you fucking idiot shithead. I don't give a rats fuck how hard you or your dad work. Don't come at me and use that as the straw man against my reasonable arguments, you piece of shit. I work hard too, you motherfucker. You think you are better than me. You are not, sir. Equality of Opportunity is NOT Maoism, you dumb fuck.
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