Friday, October 16, 2009

Life without consequences

"The real difference between the Rich and Others is not just that 'they have more money' . . . The truly rich are born free . . . they will never feel hungry, and their credit will never be questioned. . . .
"Why do the finest flowers of the American Dream so often turn up in asylums, divorce courts, and other gray hallways of the living doomed? What is it about being born free and rich beyond worry that makes people crazy?"

-- Hunter S. Thompson, "Bad Craziness in Palm Beach," from Songs of the Doomed

There is something about unearned privilege that is deeply corrupting. Most people who are condemned by liberals as "rich" are innocent of such vices. These are people with high annual incomes which they have earned by honest labor or, once they've achieved career success, from wisely investing their earlier earnings.

These "rich" were not born rich, and whatever privileges they have, they've earned. And, if they are wise, they'll take care to teach their children not to take for granted the advantages that the child derives from the parent's success. These advantages ought to be blessings, but many times they are not, simply because the child is overindulged or never properly chastised, and thus takes for granted fortune's smile.

Well, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, and it is a fact that some of the third- and fourth-generation descendants of 19th -century "robber barons" -- scions of famous families, born to comfort and privilege -- died bankrupt, unloved and alone.

Old money can corrupt, and new money can, too. Remember the IPO hot shots of the "dot-com" boom? Or recall those stories about lottery winners who wasted vast winnings and ended up broke again? What about those professional athletes -- first-round draft picks and All-Pro stars -- who reached their 40s without retaining a cent of their once-fabulous earnings?

One of my favorite songs of the '60s is Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," about a young upper-class woman who finds herself cast down among the lowlifes she once held in contempt:

Once upon a time
You dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime
In your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll,
You're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.
How does it feel?

Really, what could be sadder than the spectacle of advantages wasted on ingrates who don't appreciate what they've been given until they've squandered it all and have nothing left? Such people are much worse off than someone born poor who, by sweating and scrimping, manages to claw themselves just a couple of rungs up the ladder.

These kinds of tragedies happen all the time, and in the strangest ways. And it is sometimes hard to resist the temptation of schadenfreude when you hear about someone who was once a pompously self-important snob being sentenced to federal prison. But our glee at such spectacular downfalls ought not blind us to the tragic wastefulness of these human disasters.

In every tragedy like that, there was a moment -- somewhere along the way -- when someone might have done or said something to prevent the disaster. But they ignored the problem or felt it was none of their business, and so the inevitable downfall ensued.

"I can't stand when adults demand the 'right' to act a certain way and then want to be shielded from the normal consequences of their actions. . . .
"People never cease to astonish me and Ms. McCain is no exception.
"I guess I'm just tired of people thumbing their noses at the rules and then citing those same rules as evidence they've been ill treated. Two wrongs don't make a right but it's generally unconvincing when you try to hold others to a standard you long since openly rejected."

-- Cassandra at Villainous Company, Oct. 15

4 comments:

  1. You know, it's odd. When I first saw the lovely photo of Meghan McCain in a slightly low cut dress that showed off her figure to advantage, I wasn't jealous or offended, but rather thought, "Wow. She really is lovely and has a knockout figure. Good on her."

    This photo struck me as desperate, somehow. Not something done from strength, but from weakness. I agree - it is sad to see someone floundering despite having led a privileged life. But then I grew up with a lot of rich kids and sometimes a life of privilege saps character.

    I think most of us require a good 2x4 upside the head every now and then to get our minds right :p That may be Meghan's problem - she reminds me of a child who keeps throwing tantrums hoping one of her parents will step in and set some boundaries!

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  2. some comments. First and foremost, I have a feeling that many these same things could be said of any social or economic class. By the 3rd, 4th generations, any and all values held by a single ancestor probably have been diluted, much like their genetic makeup. This process is probably more important now because society values destructive, immoral behavior, and once it did not. (See the life of Hunter Thompson. Maybe you really don't want your children to emulate the life of this very interesting person.)

    Social norms and values are significant, even though not 100% effective. Now that our norms and values reflect the values of the lowest common social denominator, well, this is what we get.

    As far as Ms. McCain goes, tell me true. Is her behavior so different from her parents at the same age? I don't know much about her mother and there has been enough bad stuff printed about her. If some of it is true, is it the result of her wealth? Cindy was born rich.

    However, as far as her father goes, how is her behavior any different, save for the presence of the Internet? Young John was a rake. He was rebellious vis a vis his father's reputation. He was sexually active. His excuse was that he as a Navy pilot, the son of an admiral, and therefore entitled.

    Not so different from his daughter, I think.

    Don't get me wrong. She is still a major pain. Major. Pain.

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  3. Cassandra wrote: "I think most of us require a good 2x4 upside the head every now and then to get our minds right"

    Exactly. That is to say, we must occasionally cope with consequences when we do stupid things, like quit a good job to start a blogging career, but I digress . . .

    The problem with cosseted youth is that they become habituated to parental rescues, to always having their own way, and it makes them arrogant.

    This is not only true of the children of the wealthy and famous, but also of those who -- because of precocious talent -- are too-soon elevated to "stardom."

    Years ago, when I was a sports writer in Georgia, football and basketball coaches would privately bemoan the difficulty of working with young athletes who had been identified as future stars when they were only 11 or 12. When these kids were told over and over that they were destined for greatness, when they began to receive promotional packages from major universities while still freshmen in high school -- well, it becomes very difficult to discipline such a kid, especially when both the coach and the kid know that his talents make him indispensible to the team's success.

    Frankly, you see the same phenonmenon among Washington journalists. You take a new-minted graduate of Columbia University J-school, assign him to the Capitol Hill bureau at age 23, so that he's getting Page One bylines in Washington right off the bat, and he is utterly ruined in terms of ever doing any more menial duty in the news business. And one of the little-known secrets of Washington journalism is that it is actually much easier than covering county commissions and school boards in some provincial small town. But again, I digress . . .

    The Internet has exacerbated these ills. My 16-year-old guitarist son has MySpace, Facebook, etc., and can post online videos of himself playing the guitar and attract an adoring fan-base of girls who will tell him how wonderful he is. Well, he's my son, so he naturally inherited the wonderfulness gene. However, he needs to spend more time practicing his licks -- and less time chatting with his online fans -- if he ever hopes to make it in the music business.

    Meghan McCain has been allowed to become a major political media figure at age 24 on the basis of what? (Crickets chirping.)

    If past is prologue, we may expect a crash-and-burn. I've seen this play before.

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  4. 1) Bravo, Cassandra. Bravo, Stacy

    2) Stacy wrote: This is not only true of the children of the wealthy and famous, but also of those who -- because of precocious talent -- are too-soon elevated to "stardom."

    Years ago, when I was a sports writer in Georgia, football and basketball coaches would privately bemoan the difficulty of working with young athletes who had been identified as future stars when they were only 11 or 12. When these kids were told over and over that they were destined for greatness, when they began to receive promotional packages from major universities while still freshmen in high school -- well, it becomes very difficult to discipline such a kid, especially when both the coach and the kid know that his talents make him indispensible to the team's success.

    Frankly, you see the same phenonmenon among Washington journalists....


    You see the same phenonmenon in Barack Hussein Obama. He is not that bright in a creative way, just skillfully, and he accepted without question the multi-cultural and Marxist propaganda he was taught in school. We have all seen the straight A, advanced-placement student who is a straight A, advanced-placement student because he or she is very good at memorizing all the bromides taught in class and able to regurgitate them exactly as those teachers with second-rate minds want to hear them spoken and written.

    He is profoundly bright, skilled, sly, and able to absorb facts like a superior sponge, but it appears that he has never really questioned the premises of the ideas that have been fed to him. Such men are convinced that they are above average in a unique [key word] and outstanding way. This feeling gets repeatedly re-enforced by the teachers, mentors, friends, relatives, and allies around them. This type of person has not been challenged nor has had his intelligence questioned in any serious way. Therefore, faced with no challenges to justify and defend what he believes in, he comes to believe of himself as near-omniscient. That makes this type of person very dangerous to those over whom he has power and unreliable to his friendly neighbors.

    Now that Barack Hussein Obama is finally facing real and determined opposition at home and abroad, his first reaction has been rage and anger at those who challenge and question his actions or motives. This is the kind of reaction one gets from a spoiled Golden Boy. In a child it is hard enough to control, but in someone with the access to such power as the Presidency of the United States confers, it is near impossible to control.

    Cassandra's 2x4 has never been administered to the upside of BHO's head. A Meghan McCain will only end up hurting those around her, and herself, mentally; the jock may beat or murder but such acts will only touch a few; Obama has the potential to cause harm and/or death to millions. Mzzz McCain can be ignored; the jock can be tried and sent away. BHO has to be stopped, made ineffective [I am not advocating violence--at worst, I would advocate impeachment].

    Pueri pueri, pueri puerilia tractant.

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