Class Matters by MixMasterE

The prevalent fear of poverty among the educated classes is the worst moral disease from which our civilization suffers. ~William James


If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin. ~Charles Darwin



The word "class" has been banished/misunderstood in repectable circles for quite some time now. It brings with it all types of images and ugly truths which many of us simply sweep under the rug as we continue to enjoy the trappings (inanities?) of the 'good life". I have nothing against living comfortably and enjoying the fruits of my labor, but in no way am I blind to the ravages of the U.S socio-economic order ( what Gore Vidal terms, " socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the rest of us". See http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040913&c=3&s=vidal) and the political spinelessness that plays handmaiden to the Captains of Industry. It seems to me that until one is hit by some type of crisis in his/her personal finances, the empathy towards and understanding of those tossed up in the vortex of wealth accumulation (by any means) is minimal to non-existant. The mainstream media ( now dominated by fewer, greedier hands with a Right-leaning persuasion) has always played its' necessary role of mirrors, smokescreens and downright lies in order to, as Noam Chomsky famously put it, "tame the bewildered herd" ( see http://www.chomsky.info/books/mediacontrol01.htm).

Until now.

It looks like some big fish in the mainstream are playing close attention now to this term "class". It's about frickin' time. The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and L.A Times have recently done a comprehensive series of articles dealing with class issues. (Click here: http://www.inequality.org/Summers.htm). This was bound to happen sooner or later--a classic case of the chickens coming home to roost.

As Peter Tosh aptly put it, "You fool some people sometimes /But you can't fool all the people all the time/And now we see the light/ We gonna stand up for our rights" .