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An Open Letter to that 53% Guy
By Max Udargo | October 12, 2011
(This is a copy of a dairy I posted on Daily Kos earlier today. I was very excited when Kos himself promoted it to the front page)
Hello,
I briefly visited the “We are the 53%” website, but I first saw your face on a liberal blog. Your picture is quite popular on liberal blogs. I think it’s because of the expression on your face. I don’t know if you meant to look pugnacious or if we’re just projecting that on you, but I think that’s what gets our attention.
In the picture, you’re holding up a sheet of paper that says:
I am a former Marine.
I work two jobs.
I don’t have health insurance.
I worked 60-70 hours a week for 8 years to pay my way through college.
I haven’t had 4 consecutive days off in over 4 years.
But I don’t blame Wall Street.
Suck it up you whiners.
I am the 53%.
God bless the USA!
I wanted to respond to you as a liberal. Because, although I think you’ve made yourself clear and I think I understand you, you don’t seem to understand me at all. I hope you will read this and understand me better, and maybe understand the Occupy Wall Street movement better.
First, let me say that I think it’s great that you have such a strong work ethic and I agree with you that you have much to be proud of. You seem like a good, hard-working, strong kid. I admire your dedication and determination. I worked my way through college too, mostly working graveyard shifts at hotels as a “night auditor.” For a time I worked at two hotels at once, but I don’t think I ever worked 60 hours in a week, and certainly not 70. I think I maxed out at 56. And that wasn’t something I could sustain for long, not while going to school. The problem was that I never got much sleep, and sleep deprivation would take its toll. I can’t imagine putting in 70 hours in a week while going to college at the same time. That’s impressive.
I have a nephew in the Marine Corps, so I have some idea of how tough that can be. He almost didn’t make it through basic training, but he stuck it out and insisted on staying even when questions were raised about his medical fitness. He eventually served in Iraq and Afghanistan and has decided to pursue a career in the Marines. We’re all very proud of him. Your picture reminds me of him.
So, if you think being a liberal means that I don’t value hard work or a strong work ethic, you’re wrong. I think everyone appreciates the industry and dedication a person like you displays. I’m sure you’re a great employee, and if you have entrepreneurial ambitions, I’m sure these qualities will serve you there too. I’ll wish you the best of luck, even though a guy like you will probably need luck less than most.
I understand your pride in what you’ve accomplished, but I want to ask you something.
Do you really want the bar set this high? Do you really want to live in a society where just getting by requires a person to hold down two jobs and work 60 to 70 hours a week? Is that your idea of the American Dream?
Do you really want to spend the rest of your life working two jobs and 60 to 70 hours a week? Do you think you can? Because, let me tell you, kid, that’s not going to be as easy when you’re 50 as it was when you were 20.
And what happens if you get sick? You say you don’t have health insurance, but since you’re a veteran I assume you have some government-provided health care through the VA system. I know my father, a Vietnam-era veteran of the Air Force, still gets most of his medical needs met through the VA, but I don’t know what your situation is. But even if you have access to health care, it doesn’t mean disease or injury might not interfere with your ability to put in those 60- to 70-hour work weeks.
Do you plan to get married, have kids? Do you think your wife is going to be happy with you working those long hours year after year without a vacation? Is it going to be fair to her? Is it going to be fair to your kids? Is it going to be fair to you?
Look, you’re a tough kid. And you have a right to be proud of that. But not everybody is as tough as you, or as strong, or as young. Does pride in what you’ve accomplish mean that you have contempt for anybody who can’t keep up with you? Does it mean that the single mother who can’t work on her feet longer than 50 hours a week doesn’t deserve a good life? Does it mean the older man who struggles with modern technology and can’t seem to keep up with the pace set by younger workers should just go throw himself off a cliff?
And, believe it or not, there are people out there even tougher than you. Why don’t we let them set the bar, instead of you? Are you ready to work 80 hours a week? 100 hours? Can you hold down four jobs? Can you do it when you’re 40? When you’re 50? When you’re 60? Can you do it with arthritis? Can you do it with one arm? Can you do it when you’re being treated for prostate cancer?
And is this really your idea of what life should be like in the greatest country on Earth?
Here’s how a liberal looks at it: a long time ago workers in this country realized that industrialization wasn’t making their lives better, but worse. The captains of industry were making a ton of money and living a merry life far away from the dirty, dangerous factories they owned, and far away from the even dirtier and more dangerous mines that fed raw materials to those factories.
The workers quickly decided that this arrangement didn’t work for them. If they were going to work as cogs in machines designed to build wealth for the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and Carnegies, they wanted a cut. They wanted a share of the wealth that they were helping create. And that didn’t mean just more money; it meant a better quality of life. It meant reasonable hours and better working conditions.
Eventually, somebody came up with the slogan, “8 hours of work, 8 hours of leisure, 8 hours of sleep” to divide the 24-hour day into what was considered a fair allocation of a human’s time. It wasn’t a slogan that was immediately accepted. People had to fight to put this standard in place. People demonstrated, and fought with police, and were killed. They were called communists (in fairness, some of them were), and traitors, and many of them got a lot worse than pepper spray at the hands of police and private security.
But by the time we got through the Great Depression and WWII, we’d all learned some valuable lessons about working together and sharing the prosperity, and the 8-hour workday became the norm.
The 8-hour workday and the 40-hour workweek became a standard by which we judged our economic success, and a reality check against which we could verify the American Dream.
If a family could live a good life with one wage-earner working a 40-hour job, then the American Dream was realized. If the income from that job could pay the bills, buy a car, pay for the kids’ braces, allow the family to save enough money for a down payment on a house and still leave some money for retirement and maybe for a college fund for the kids, then we were living the American Dream. The workers were sharing in the prosperity they helped create, and they still had time to take their kids to a ball game, take their spouses to a movie, and play a little golf on the weekends.
Ah, the halcyon days of the 1950s! Yeah, ok, it wasn’t quite that perfect. The prosperity wasn’t spread as evenly and ubiquitously as we might want to pretend, but if you were a middle-class white man, things were probably pretty good from an economic perspective. The American middle class was reaching its zenith.
And the top marginal federal income tax rate was more than 90%. Throughout the whole of the 1950s and into the early 60s.
Just thought I’d throw that in there.
Anyway, do you understand what I’m trying to say? We can have a reasonable standard for what level of work qualifies you for the American Dream, and work to build a society that realizes that dream, or we can chew each other to the bone in a nightmare of merciless competition and mutual contempt.
I’m a liberal, so I probably dream bigger than you. For instance, I want everybody to have healthcare. I want lazy people to have healthcare. I want stupid people to have healthcare. I want drug addicts to have healthcare. I want bums who refuse to work even when given the opportunity to have healthcare. I’m willing to pay for that with my taxes, because I want to live in a society where it doesn’t matter how much of a loser you are, if you need medical care you can get it. And not just by crowding up an emergency room that should be dedicated exclusively to helping people in emergencies.
You probably don’t agree with that, and that’s fine. That’s an expansion of the American Dream, and would involve new commitments we haven’t made before. But the commitment we’ve made to the working class since the 1940s is something that we should both support and be willing to fight for, whether we are liberal or conservative. We should both be willing to fight for the American Dream. And we should agree that anybody trying to steal that dream from us is to be resisted, not defended.
And while we’re defending that dream, you know what else we’ll be defending? We’ll be defending you and your awesome work ethic. Because when we defend the American Dream we’re not just defending the idea of modest prosperity for people who put in an honest day’s work, we’re also defending the idea that those who go the extra mile should be rewarded accordingly.
I don’t want you to “get by” working two jobs and 60 to 70 hours a week. If you’re willing to put in that kind of effort, I want you to get rich. I want you to have a comprehensive healthcare plan. I want you vacationing in the Bahamas every couple of years, with your beautiful wife and healthy, happy kids. I want you rewarded for your hard work, and I want your exceptional effort to reap exceptional rewards. I want you to accumulate wealth and invest it in Wall Street. And I want you to make more money from those investments.
I understand that a prosperous America needs people with money to invest, and I’ve got no problem with that. All other things being equal, I want all the rich people to keep being rich. And clever financiers who find ways to get more money into the hands of promising entrepreneurs should be rewarded for their contributions as well.
I think Wall Street has an important job to do, I just don’t think they’ve been doing it. And I resent their sense of entitlement – their sense that they are special and deserve to be rewarded extravagantly even when they screw everything up.
Come on, it was only three years ago, kid. Remember? Those assholes almost destroyed our economy. Do you remember the feeling of panic? John McCain wanted to suspend the presidential campaign so that everybody could focus on the crisis. Hallowed financial institutions like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch went belly up. The government started intervening with bailouts, not because anybody thought “private profits and socialized losses” was fair, but because we were afraid not to intervene – we were afraid our whole economy might come crashing down around us if we didn’t prop up companies that were “too big to fail.”
So, even though you and I had nothing to do with the bad decisions, blind greed and incompetence of those guys on Wall Street, we were sure as hell along for the ride, weren’t we? And we’ve all paid a price.
All the “99%” wants is for you to remember the role that Wall Street played in creating this mess, and for you to join us in demanding that Wall Street share the pain. They don’t want to share the pain, and they’re spending a lot of money and twisting a lot of arms to foist their share of the pain on the rest of us instead. And they’ve been given unprecedented powers to spend and twist, and they’re not even trying to hide what they’re doing.
All we want is for everybody to remember what happened, and to see what is happening still. And we want you to see that the only way they can get away without paying their share is to undermine the American Dream for the rest of us.
And I want you and I to understand each other, and to stand together to prevent them from doing that. You seem like the kind of guy who would be a strong ally, and I’d be proud to stand with you.
Topics: Politics | 56 Comments »
Thanks, Max, for writing full of heart. Thank you.
Amazing article. I don’t think I will forget it for a long time.
THIS is now making the rounds amongst all my FB and LJ friends. I wish I had your AWESOME ability to meet the hostiles in the middle and present a human they can (or should be able to!) relate to. I’ve been so appalled by the hateful vitriol spewed at protestors online, all I can usually manage is “You’re happy with The Way Things Are(tm)? With your bank, your interest rate, your fees, your mortgage? Mazel Tov! Now go back to your ‘reality’ tv, sports, QVC, ‘Real’ Housewives, and leave those who can’t take those things for granted like you to try to make changes in their lives.” If your letter doesn’t change some hearts and minds, nothing can.
I read your open letter to the 53% guy. You are right on. Thanks for no obscenities.
Your MOM
Thank you Max!
This is the most wonderful letter about the Occupy movements I’ve read since September 17th. It’s absolutely fabulous and brought tears to my eyes.
I’ve posted on my FB for others to read.
Thank you so much!
This is an interesting political letter about which I will not take a side, because it’s not my country, not my economy, and none of my business (though I feel you explained your viewpoint very well).
But can I just say how horribly patronising I think it is for you to continually refer to the man in the picture as ‘kid’? He’s an ex-marine who is at least in his mid twenties, probably older. He’s clearly a hardworking man. He is not a kid.
Doing something like that just tips the perspective of the entire thing from an explanation of your political viewpoint into a lecture from adult to child along the lines, “This is what I am teaching you because this is what I believe it right, and it is your job to understand that.”
He is clearly not a kid, and patronising him because you think your idea is so much cleverer than his does make you look like a bit of a dick. IMO.
This letter to the former Marine was so well written, it brought me to tears. As a former member of the armed forces (Navy 11 yrs), I can tell you that young people like this see the rest of the world in an unfavorable light when it comes to work ethic. They are often filled with anger that masks itself as pride and they feel they belong to a “club.” They are mostly underemployed, disenfranchised youth that have yet to find themselves and know what is important in life…they are not yet mature enough to have empathy and not open enough to ponder the possibilities of human potential outside the matrix. They see the “dirty hippies” marching down the street and think that’s all that this movement is about..I know this guy, and thousands like him. He needs a hug and a good cry. ? Bless you Max, you words have power.
Your letter has some good ideas, but its plain to see you are an idealist. A dreamer. You want to ‘spread the wealth’ and get by with minimal work. You want to live in Utopia (I do too, don’t get me wrong), but there is a difference between you and me. I realize that we can’t. That we don’t. So if you would come back to reality and understand how society actually works, it would add a nice change to your writing.
Extreme jib salute.
I love you for this. This is the kind of discourse we all need.
NAILED IT.
Excellent! As a veteran who understands this guy, I wrote a response to this.
Max, that was one of the greatest single pieces of writing I have EVER read! I can’t thank you enough for providing liberals the world over a go to place to show people all the things we think to say, but never find the words so eloquently! My answer to every stupid, obtuse “blame the victim” trash post I see on Facebook is going to be, “Yeah, but:” and then a link to your open letter.
As a veteran, just like Rose, above, I am fortunate enough to have been educated by retired military members who made sure I knew how to apply for a service-connected disability upon leaving the Air Force. No one officially makes that obvious for you. I only have a 10% disability rating, but a “special monthly dispensation” for “loss of a reproductive organ” because FORTUNATELY I was diagnosed with testicular cancer upon leaving the service! Can you imagine thinking that cancer is a “fortune” because you now know you can have access to free health care for life!?
Anyway, I digress (just showing you the mindset that dealing with the VA creates for us veterans). I have had nothing but great experiences in the VA system, but that’s likely because my local VA hospital is just particularly well run. I see my Primary Care doc whenever I need to (yes, I do make my regularly scheduled appointments months in advance), and I have a great relationship with an oncologist, and all my cancer related check ups are hassle free and completely free. I am one of those fortunate Americans who gets to know what socialized, single-payer health care is like, and it is GREAT!
So, I’m a middle class, college educated veteran. I got my Bachelor’s while on Active Duty thanks to 100% tuition assistance and an MBA on the GI Bill, which kind of argues against Rose’s blog’s points about it, but hey, that’s a minor disagreement between two people who share many views, I’m sure. I have been nothing but fortunate and lucky my entire adult life. I want for nothing, take advantage of all my society has made available for me because of my service to our country. I have it all. I’m actually in the the top 75% of income earners in the U.S. I have a house (with an underwater mortgage, of course, so I am a bit trapped in this house…thanks Wall St.), a relatively decent car, will have willingly changed jobs twice this year to better my situation (assuming I get the offer I’m expecting this week or next), have my health and free health insurance, and guaranteed VA disability check every month. I’m living the American Dream. Put in some, get a lot of opportunity for it!
But I actually posses a heart that can empathize and sympathize, so I’m standing firm with the rest of the 99% like me, who recognize that it is a very small percentage of greedy, selfish oligarchs who wield way too much power in the halls of Congress and at the White House. It is in fact Wall St who has made it so that our government is no longer “For the People” even if “We the People” saved their sorry asses a couple years ago.
So, go Max. Thanks!
Max, I think you have a good heart and some great points, but I think you “can’t see the forest through the trees.” I started to comment more, but the comment just got too long. If you’re curious about my response, please check out my blog post:
http://discussingadjusting.blogspot.com/2011/10/response-to-open-letter.html
This isn’t spam, but just an attempt to continue your open letter.
Good points, Max. I do admire the young man’s dedication, and I agree with your points about his work ethic. Great ethic, and impossible to sustain. I’m married to a man who worked that much, sometimes more, not to make ends meet, but because it was required to do his job well. And he has earned an above average living. Took less than 5 sick days in 28 years. He wasn’t here for his kids much of the time, but we did get nice vacations. Then he said, enough is enough. Now he works for the Veterans Administration, working maybe 45 hour/week. It feels like part time work in comparison.
The problem isn’t with those who work for a living, the problem is with those who just talk for a living and with those who just throw around other people’s money for a living and get very rich doing so, because they take such a big slice instead of crediting more of it to their clients.
And the biggest problem is with those who have other people doing all the work, but they just take the cream off the top, leaving only the watery milk to be spread to all the workers.
There’s nothing wrong with a struggling businessman/woman paying low starting wages because that is all the company can afford, but there IS something wrong with the businessman/woman who does well, but doesn’t reward those who have done the company’s work along the way.
In my first job, at a pizza restaurant, I took orders and washed dishes, and did the other bottom of the pecking order jobs. I earned $2/hour. The pizza makers earned $4/hour. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Well, minimum wage for a restaurant (work+tips) then was $1.15/hour. That owner KNEW who was the cause of the success of his business.
“I think Wall Street has an important job to do, I just don’t think they’ve been doing it. And I resent their sense of entitlement – their sense that they are special and deserve to be rewarded extravagantly even when they screw everything up.”
Bingo. Why is that so hard to understand?
I believe you have misrepresented the man’s story. You ask whether he wants to keep working 60-70 hours, and how it will impact his life when he is 50.
Yet, he did not say he works that much all the time. He said he did it to put himself through college- past-tense.
I just wanted to say thank you for writing such a beautiful and powerful letter. It is people like you that are the only hope to bring this country back together and mend our wounds.
LOL, Max you have been accused of being the guy in the picture. “wink”
Grace:
Either fancyred is very confused, or I am.
Don’t want to ruin the party but this is the way I see it:
Marine: These are the cards I was dealt and this is what I did. I worked hard. And continue to do so.
Udargo: Dreams about a fairer world where we won’t have to work so hard.
And how does that help the marine? What should he have done differently? What should Americans do differently tomorrow?
Everyone loves a dreamer who reasons well. Great, let’s work for a better future, but in the mean time it seems a lot of poeple will have to work very hard to attain that future.
Not to mention somehow paying off the several Everests of debt we have.
Are you recommending because things -should- be fairer we shouldn’t work very hard right now?
I’m seeking a source for this stunning, most brilliant of all letters ever, that isn’t connected to the Daily Kos, and here’s the author saying, “I was very excited when Kos himself promoted it…” This hardwired connection is disappointing to progressives stalwarts who will not vote again for Obama (it’s our right, right?) under any circumstances, hundreds if not thousands of the very people Most Likely to Have Been Banned long since from daily kos, democratic underground, and finished wasting efforts on even the mildest comments to Huffpo that will never get posted. Max Udargo, you’re worth a thousand of “Kos himself.” I’m amazed to find you a “civilian,” not a writer for Rolling Stone, Salon or the like. Glen Greenwald HIMSELF would shake your hand with both of his and stammer his admiration. That’s what I think! Oh well, your “publisher” notwithstanding, you are wonderful for giving us (and the world) this letter.
Truly a great piece. This 53% guy has been played for a sucker by moneyed interests in this country, and unfortunately he’s not alone. I feel sorry for him that he thinks a dog-eat-dog, every man for himself, Social Darwinist country is what we should be. But he’s young and idealistic, and drank too much of the kool aid– not surprising considering the amount of it that is being spewed out there by our media. I’m thinking the media may be the most to blame, it’s produced these guys I think– with Fox news and AM talk radio propagandizing his message 24/7…
The other claim I see being made a lot by people like the 53%, is that everyone is on the dole– lazy, want’s something for nothing. I’m sure there are such people, but I’m also sure that not everyone is like that, there are people who are really in need– should we sacrifice all those just because we don’t like paying for lazy bums? Perhaps there are ways to better handle it than just doing away with all assistance– perhaps better ways to qualify it, or whatever. The idea that because SOME idiots may be taking unfair advangage means we should not help the needy at all just doesn’t add up for me.
David: Don’t worry about it, you haven’t wrecked the party.
I wasn’t offering the guy any advice other than to reflect on his situation from my perspective and try to understand what OWS is fighting for. If you thought my point was to talk him out of working hard, I’m afraid you must have made that up in your head.
Carly: If it makes you feel any better, I was long ago banned from Democratic Underground.
You start out okay, but all your talk of respecting a strong work ethic is belied when you state that you think it is perfectly okay for someone to choose to be lazy, a bum, and a drug addict. It’s so okay in fact that they deserve to be taken care of by society so they have all the same things everyone else does who works for them. So which is it? Should hard work matter or shouldn’t it?
Do you really want the bar set that low? Do you think an able-bodied adult (and we’re not talking handicapped, disabled, children or elderly–we’re talking people who CAN work) who refuses to even lift a finger on his or her own behalf deserves to be handed all the same things as people who work for them? Again, where is your work ethic? Is that fair to the ex-Marine? Is it fair to tax payers? (Good luck getting over half the voters in this country to agree to THAT. Not with MY money!) For that matter, is it fair to the bum and the drug addict who, instead of being enabled, should be helped to see that they shouldn’t throw their lives away?
What if all 300 million Americans up and decided to be lazy bums and drug addicts? Where would the wealth that you want to redistribute to everyone come from? You have to have wealth first in order to distribute it. Of course, not everyone chooses to be a waste of space. Some people want to work. The only problem is that when the government tries to take care of everyone from the cradle to the grave one unfortunate thing happens that undermines the entire effort: Every person in society is robbed of their incentive.
We don’t really know much about the Marine in the picture, do we? Other than he’s not part of the entitlement crowd. Nowhere does it say that he is “just getting by.” Why assume that? For all we know, he could have a 6-figure income, or better. Maybe he now has health insurance as I write this. Maybe he chooses not to have it for some other reason, who knows? But when I look at this Marine I see someone with an outstanding attitude and our country would be a far better place if everyone in it had that attitude.
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are guaranteed in the Constitution. Health insurance is not. But if you’re going to demand health insurance for everyone, why stop there? What’s next on the American socialist’s agenda? Life insurance for all? Car insurance for all? Homeowner’s insurance for all? People need those things, too. Where’s the money for all that going to come from? While you’re dreaming big, Max, why not throw in a free car and a free house, too, for every American?
You did get one thing right: You’re a dreamer. You’re dreaming about a mythical utopia that does not, will not, and cannot ever exist. Every time it has been attempted in the history of the world the result has been a bleak, brutal, and oppressive society where nobody wants to live. And while we’re on the subject of fantasies, being an employee does not necessarily mean working in a dark, dangerous factory and in fact it seldom does in this day and age.
You do make a couple valid points about life being harder in some ways when you’re older or when you’re sick, etc. But that is what friends, family, church and community are for; it is not what the federal government is for.
Kayla: I never said it was “perfectly okay” to be a bum, drug addict, etc. And I didn’t say they deserve “all the same things as everybody else.” I never said they “deserve” anything at all.
I don’t know if drug addicts “deserve” to be “taken care of” by society. I don’t even know what that means. All I know is that if you need to see a doctor, I want you to see a doctor. And I don’t care if you’re an asshole, an idiot, a loser, or a bum. If you need to see a doctor, I want you to see a doctor.
And yet I made a clear distinction between the universal health care coverage that I advocate as a liberal and the American Dream that I think we should all defend regardless of whether we are liberal or conservative. That was the whole point. Maybe you think “bad” people should die in the gutter. Fine. I didn’t say we should agree on that, what I said was that we should agree on the American Dream, and I defined that dream in terms of what we’ve been able to accomplish historically.
We don’t know much about the Marine in the photo, because he only tells us so much. But we know he works two jobs, has no health insurance, and hasn’t had a vacation in 4 years. Doesn’t sound like somebody with a six-figure income to me.
Thank you for this, Max. You managed to express everything I thought but couldn’t say because I was too busy frothing at the mouth.
Um…lest that sound arch or facetious, I meant that entirely seriously.
Max, that’s cred! Members snipping bits of your letter and linking to it, no doubt, don’t even realize.
)
[...] the movement matures, let’s consider a response to our critics. Let’s occupy the core of our global system. Let’s dethrone the greed that defines this [...]
hmmm. 53% guys seems to be whining to me…..
WHO ARE YOU?? What a GREAT piece of writing. I can’t say I agree with everything you say but WOW! was I blown away with your ability to express yourself. I’ll have to dig harder to discover more of your writing.
Excellent job. Write more!
Max, if I may make a suggestion: You need to develop a little one-short-paragraph-long “about the author” sort of thingy to put beneath your piece when it appears in other places… like on Daily KOS, for example. You’ve seen them before, I’m sure… beneath an article by so-and-so, it says something like…
“About the author: John Doe is a management consultant with specialization in the blahblah industry. He has written many articles for such publications as, yaddayaddayadda. He lives with his wife and three daughters in Mooseballs, Montana.”
Something like that.
Just a suggestion.
Excellent piece, by the way. I just posted about it — again — on my Facebook wall; and I’ve emailed it to many since it first appeared in mid-October. Good work. Thank you.
Gregg L. DesElms
Napa, California USA
gregg at greggdeselms dot com
Just wanted to say thank you so much for providing what might be the most convincing, well-reasoned, compassionate and heart-felt response to someone’s political stance that I’ve ever read. I, too, think that fundamentally most people — including guys like this 53% dude — could agree on all these things, it’s only because of the vast amount of money and energy that the 1% spend trying to divide and distract us that keep us in our place. OWS — and people like you — are starting to finally bend the arc of history towards justice.
Max, what a wonderful, compelling piece. Sharing with my friends & family.
Mr. Udargo,
Thanks so much for taking your time to dissect this in a simple way every reasonable person should be able to understand. In the world in which most of us want to live, there is no Us versus Them, just Us. Keep fighting the good fight brother.
The choir here really loves the sermon but I think there’s need for a note of discord, here: The dude isn’t setting the bar that high. That’s just where he found it, so he’s working through it.
We don’t have a lot of context to work with, but I’m going to guess that the reason he doesn’t blame Wall Street for his problems is because those guys are just working stiffs like the rest of us, making the most of the cards they were dealt. You could argue that the game isn’t fair, but there’s no point in arguing that to the salarymen on Wall Street. Don’t hate the playas, hate they game.
This rudderless movement really needs to think about what they want, and then they need to pitch it to the people that can do something about it. If I were one of you (I’m obviously not), I’d focus on the most inarguable truths and jettison the self-serving whiners amongst you. Argue meaningful oversight at the SEC office. Argue against moral hazard in front of Congress. But don’t argue about unwise loans you’ve taken or the injustice of life ’cause there ain’t nobody on Earth gonna help you with that.
And no one who wants to hear that nonsense, either.
If you’re willing to pay for the “lazy bums” I would suggest you and like minded individuals start a private fund for it and contribute x% of your income. The rest of us are working hard for what we have and would rather spend that money the way we want or need to.
Stop using credit. That’s the real problem that spun us all into this tail spin. Don’t get involved with faulty loans if you can’t afford them; stop overspending; live within your means (what a concept!); stop pretending you’re all Rich and Famous with the brandname this, and the stainless steel that; pay cash for EVERYTHING; practice SAVING money, build a nest egg; lobby someone who can actually make a difference; VOTE!!; and most importantly, don’t lose sight of your own power of WILLPOWER to refrain from spending money you don’t have.
The American Dream is a fiction. Create your own American Dream – one that demonstrates commitment to savings, not keeping up with the Joneses, and refrains from greed. Just because you are approved for a $500K mortgage on a $40K income, does NOT mean you can afford it.
Think about it. YOU have a responsibility to make change from your OWN actions. Everyone of us does.
So, Stacey, you think this guy’s problem is that he bought too much stuff on credit, bought a house he couldn’t afford and doesn’t vote? Because I don’t see how you come to those conclusions based on the limited information he gives us.
My impression is that he’s hard-working and frugal. Maybe I’m projecting the frugal part on him, but I don’t see any evidence that he’s not.
LMC has it right.. To get someone to see as you do “dont” talk down to them. Being Liberal is a label as grand as any other. You are a human and treat all as human if you want them to stand with you. “I dream bigger then you” what the f**K is that. You make me sick try getting of you high horse with labels as that just divides us more. wake up to the real problem.
@Max, no my response is not directed at the guy in the photo at all. It’s in response to the misdirection of so many people who want to place blame on everyone but themselves for being broke. I am tired of everyone playing victim – not saying there aren’t real concerns with job losses and corruption. But the reality is that far too many people in Western culture believe they are entitled to the BMW in their driveways, or the huge McMansions they cannot afford, or the designer duds that the latest celebrity is wearing. It’s a mindshift that needs to happen – we’ve been living beyond our means for far too long and now the bubble has burst.
the fortunate need to care for all beings. my mom needs to be cared for, especially after she can no longer care for herself. she did all the right things; except concern herself with making a ton of cash… is that what she should be penalized for? really?
Adam:
You’re right, of course. I can only hope that someday I develop the delicate, diplomatic, ingratiating writing skills you display in your comment.
Stacey:
Your comments got me thinking and I plan to respond to them in a new post.
You had me up to the part about providing healthcare to “bums who refuse to work.” I work hard and pay a LOT of money for my health insurance and healthcare, and after working for 20+ years, I’ve put a LOT into Social Security. If you don’t work, you don’t have money, and you can’t pay for things. Healthcare included. If you’re able-bodied, you don’t deserve to live on my dime.
People who don’t want to work: Guess what? I DON’T WANT TO WORK EITHER. I grew up thinking I was going to get to be a housewife. Didn’t happen. I have worked full-time since graduating from college, and that’s the way it’s going to be until the day I die. I hate getting up in the morning. I hate commuting. I hate working. But I do it so that my husband won’t go broke or work himself to death. My medical bills alone would break him.
There is no -American Dream- anymore. Why? Look at our politicians. Obama, Congress and the supercommittee can’t get ANYTHING accomplished. They exhibit the intelligence and reasoning capacity of a bunch of preschoolers fighting over blocks and crayons. And the Republican presidential hopefuls look like a lineup of carnival sideshow rejects. The fact that the American public is even entertaining the idea of voting for ANY of them is frightening.
Would love to see us get out of this mess, but I don’t think there are enough intelligent people in this country anymore to make it happen.
I have been looking for someone who could put a face on the 99% movement, and not just in sound bites. This tells it perfectly. It’s not about politics – republicans, or democrats. It’s about the millions of Americans who have lost the American dream, and can clearly see where the problems lie. Thank you Mr. Udargo.
[...] they begrudge his success, or that their actions will somehow interfere with his life. I sent him this masterful letter from Max Udargo to this Marine who feels the same way, telling protesters, “Suck it up, you [...]
I completely agree with everything you say, Mr. Udargo, however, repeatedly reducing the man in the photo to “kid” status does not give your argument more weight but only succeeds in making you sound like a condescending old man, and your sugary presentation reeks of insincerity. It was this close to being a good argument but you should have left age out of it. Older doesn’t necessarily mean smarter and you probably alienated about 53% of you readers.
Brenda:
I am a condescending old man. As far as reeking of insincerity, I’ve tried everything from alkaline soaps to bathing in overproof vodka, but nothing kills the stench.
I must say I enjoye your skill of writing. I can’t help but be disappointed with the ageism. Your craft is clever without a doubt. I would say that in being an “old man” one would think you may allow those life lessons to resonate a degree further through your humility. Maybe if you announced your sarcastic ways before you announced your will for understanding it would have been a quirky attribute. It is in my assumption(leaving you wide open for attack), from one peaceful, strong-minded individual to another. Hahaha! You do come down on “the lad!” We can all improve, no?
I must say I enjoy your skill of writing. I can’t help but be disappointed with the ageism. Your craft is clever without a doubt. I would say that in being an “old man” one would think you may allow those life lessons to resonate a degree further through your humility. Maybe if you announced your sarcastic ways before you announced your will for understanding it would have been a quirky attribute. It is in my assumption(leaving you wide open for attack), from one peaceful, strong-minded individual to another. Hahaha! You do come down on “the lad!” We can all improve, no?
HAHAHA!
I remember when Maxuda posted a lot at RottenTomatoes…probably some of the most idiotic nonsense I’ve ever read…I see he’s still as idiotic as ever…the quintessential libtard….thanks for the good laugh…what a fucking idiot