When wealth is passed off as merit

When wealth is passed off as merit

When wealth is passed off as merit, bad luck is seen as bad character. This is how ideologies justify punishing the sick and the poor. But poverty is neither a crime nor a character flaw. Stigmatise those who let people die not those who struggle to live. Sarah Kendzior.

Stigmatise those who let people die. Or those who see groups of ‘other’ humans as lesser, to be exploited or exterminated. 

A civilised society is one that cares for the sick, weak and poor. This is the teachings of Christianity and is the root of most spiritual traditions.

But we celebrate wealth and give those with wealth a free pass to do atrocious things. 

In my younger years, I did this. I thought the wealthy were worthy of my respect as if they had done some amazing feat to accumulate wealth. In their light, I felt unworthy and inadequate. I made myself wrong for not having wealth. 

I found myself surrounded by wealthy people, and I discovered that they never felt wealthy enough. There was no money that could buy health and happiness. I learned that wealth built by genuine hard work without the exploitation of others is rare. Most wealth comes at the cost of cruel extraction. 

I also discovered that if we let it, wealth brings on a level of entitlement and arrogance that slowly allows the wealthy to look down with disrespect on those of lesser wealth. Slowly slowly it builds sanctioned cruelty.

Yet the self-terminating algorithm of capitalism is reducing the wealth even of the middle class. As the divide grows, the false profits as saviours grow fat, promising this and that to people lost in a system that is hard to see. 

I long for a humanity that stigmatises those who let people die. 

I long for kindness, care, dignity and love for Earth and all her creatures.

Photo Taken July 7th 2024