the mid-term U.S. elections featured a tearful acceptance speech from new house republican leader john boehner — a speech that incited fervent chants of usa! usa! usa! so what made him cry? boehner recalled how he’d spent his whole life chasing the american dream. that he couldn’t believe how out of touch washington had become with the economic downturn. that his plight qualified him for office during such times. the problem is that life hasn’t been all that tough for him. not really. here’s what prompted the waterworks and a look of disgust on his face:
alot of you know i started out mopping floors, waiting tables and tending bar at my dad’s tavern. I put myself through school, working every rotten job there was.”
the illusion that humble beginnings can include either a job your dad handed to you or attaining a college degree is truly ridiculous. you began your working life from a privileged position. it’s not likely your dad worked you all that hard, or set unfair standards (as many bosses do). that’s far from rotten. seems like you are also out of touch. there are many in this economy who are in a far, far worse position. some can’t find work at all, let alone have it handed to them. instead of dad providing the hookup, many have been forced to accept unemployment benefits and the associated hit to self esteem. still others are homeless, with still larger concerns than whether they are employed or not.
in my humble opinion, those of us who are financially successful during unstable times have a burden upon us never to forget just how fortunate we are. to leverage a rags to riches tale to further one’s already solid standing in an unstable economy — especially where the beginnings are far from the humblest known — is to underscore the root lift that some have over others in these as yet to be united states. we are not a people that’s equally empowered to chase the american dream. some, like boehner, will have to learn the hard way where this parade of disconnect and advantage leads.
