Exhortation I
17: 1 2. Identifying the True Enemy
Society is divided because of who we believe is responsible for our problems or who is thought to present a threat.
17: 2 Part of the population believes our problems are caused by immigrants, minorities, and social safety nets. They think the vulnerable, poor, and politically powerless are usurping their place in society. 17: 3 Additionally, they believe the government exacerbates this by taking their hard-earned money and giving it to the jobless and lazy.
17: 4 They feel that if they are self-sufficient and successful, anyone can or should be. My response; they have never experienced true poverty, hopelessness, helplessness, or humiliation.
17: 5 If you have experienced the shame of government assistance. If you have been in line at the grocery store with food stamps, waited to get government commodities with Native Americans on the reservation, or been in the lunch line with a free or reduced-price lunch card, you understand. 17: 6 There are places and circumstances that you cannot dig out of alone. Very few people are hypocritical enough to come from poverty and then look down on those in that position now. 17: 7 Or think that programs that help these people and their children are what is wrong with society.
17: 8 The true enemies are the corporations that get rich gouging insulin prices or those that rape the Earth and mortgage our children’s futures for profit. 17: 9 We give the rich unwarranted respect for achieving monetary success. The vast majority inherited their wealth or ruthlessly exploited others to get it. 17: 10 Billionaires are sociopaths; if you were alone on a desert island with one, it would eat you.
17: 11 The prep-school Ivy Leaguers in their suits on Wall Street and in board rooms are our enemies, our mortal enemies.
17: 12 Not the illegal immigrants living three families in an apartment. The judges, lawyers, and police of our fascist justice system are the enemy. Not the single mother collecting welfare.