So, there's some theory out there about a hierarchy of needs. I'm not sure what it's called, but the basic premise is that some things, some needs, are more basic or fundamental than others. The most immediate need is air, which is the thing without which you cannot live for the shortest period of time. If you suffocate, you die quickly. Next would be water and food, followed by clothing and shelter. Although, on a day like today here in the lovely Wasatch Back, clothing and shelter may be a more immediate need (it's a wintry day out there, folks!).
These needs are then succeeded in this hierarchy by things like affection, interaction, social experiences, etc. Not necessarily less important, but maybe just less immediate.
This morning I read this:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/resort-towns-working-class-squeezed-142809570.html
This, of course, is nothing new. But the attitude of the folks towards the end of the article is what I find troubling. The flippant responses about how life's tough - deal with it.... Yeah, I find that disturbing. I realize that places like Aspen and Park City are unique and do not represent the Country in general. Except, they kind of do. As the division between haves and have nots increases, and as wealth becomes exceedingly more concentrated at the plutocrat end of the scale, the attitude of disinterest and apathy also increases. And I find that disturbing.
The question becomes one of compassion. Even the gentry in the feudal societies of the past felt a noblesse oblige - a moral obligation to care for those less fortunate than themselves. This stemmed perhaps from a sense of brotherhood with the human race, or perhaps it was from a social convention that placed pressure on people to care for others. Either way, we seem to be lacking it.
I am encouraged by the actions of the City of Aspen to address these concerns. I think it's a good step, one that helps to address one of the most basic of human needs. At the same time, it addresses another human need - dignity and self-worth.
These needs are then succeeded in this hierarchy by things like affection, interaction, social experiences, etc. Not necessarily less important, but maybe just less immediate.
This morning I read this:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/resort-towns-working-class-squeezed-142809570.html
This, of course, is nothing new. But the attitude of the folks towards the end of the article is what I find troubling. The flippant responses about how life's tough - deal with it.... Yeah, I find that disturbing. I realize that places like Aspen and Park City are unique and do not represent the Country in general. Except, they kind of do. As the division between haves and have nots increases, and as wealth becomes exceedingly more concentrated at the plutocrat end of the scale, the attitude of disinterest and apathy also increases. And I find that disturbing.
The question becomes one of compassion. Even the gentry in the feudal societies of the past felt a noblesse oblige - a moral obligation to care for those less fortunate than themselves. This stemmed perhaps from a sense of brotherhood with the human race, or perhaps it was from a social convention that placed pressure on people to care for others. Either way, we seem to be lacking it.
I am encouraged by the actions of the City of Aspen to address these concerns. I think it's a good step, one that helps to address one of the most basic of human needs. At the same time, it addresses another human need - dignity and self-worth.
Comments
As to the rest of your post, yes, we are seriously lacking in compassion. If we did our part, we certainly wouldn't need the government regulations and aid that get put in place.
I admit that I am ignorant of how things functioned in reality in feudal societies (except, of course, for the one I increasingly find myself living in), and surely there were deviants from the standard or ideal (surely not every duke or earl felt any kind of obligation to their peasants). And just as surely, they viewed their peasants as, well, theirs - property to be used and used up as necessary. But just as surely as there is no gentry in our American society, there is a paucity of those who feel the oblige that would have been associated with the noblesse. I'm not nostalgic for a feudal society - far from it. But I would have hoped that we'd progressed since then.
http://wonkette.com/571896/rich-people-being-poor-sounds-easy-lets-not-be-poor-though#UXEvc6GHQbEdxyZC.01
Sometimes I just want to get off this ride. I'm so done.