A couple of nights ago, I tagged a few prominent billionaires in one of my tweets and criticized them for what I feel is their parsimonious behavior. Some random woman decided to call me out for my comment, and I doubled down by citing things I think show that the three men in question are hoarding more of their cash than most people think. I then told this woman whom I didn’t know what she could do with her opinion while on my timeline.
I’m not writing this to get people to look at my Twitter feed. In fact, I’ve debated taking those posts down just so I don’t get any more random attacks for writing them. I’ve left them for the time being because I still feel that the three men I called out can and should do more for others.
After all, in Luke 12:48, it says in part, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
Even if a person isn’t a Christian, I think that particular line still holds true. Many of the world’s religions have some variation of the belief that a person should treat others the way they wish to be treated. That means showing others courtesy, compassion, and generosity we would like to receive from them.
Because of their great wealth, those billionaires have a lot of political power. They also have a lot of popular culture power because their wealth and success have made them influential men in our society. As a result, I believe they have an obligation to do more to make their communities, and by extension our country, a better place.
And right now, I’d say the United States as a nation is going through hell. And I blame a lot of our country’s woes at the feet of greedy capitalists and their political lackeys who skew our laws to favor those who already have a surplus of money and power. They fail to realize that our social contract means they owe that much more to their fellow citizens.
People often attribute the phrase “If you’re going through hell, keep going,” to Winston Churchill. From the research I’ve done into the source of that quote, Churchill didn’t say or write that light. But it doesn’t mean it’s not still good advice.
We’re going through hell right now, and I guess we just have to keep going. It would be nice if those who had more resources at their disposal used them more effectively.
And on that note, I guess it’s time for me to review our donations. Make sure we’ve given to the causes we value this year and see if we can give a little more.
Ruth F. Simon 