Being Spoiled Will Save Us

by Tom Wise

For years, I have been of the opinion that the American people are spoiled. It has, after all, caused us to demand governmental services which we neither deserve nor have actually secured by payment. It is the cause of debt, public and private, from the 16 trillion dollar federal shortfall, to mortgages underwater, to credit cards of ill repute. As Americans, we now expect certain benefits, a certain standard of living, even a certain behavioral model; and all those who dissent from this are looked upon as unpatriotic, inhuman, or both.

Most recently, this "handout" mentality has reared itself in the Occupy movement. Whether this assembly is completely composed of socialists or not, every demonstrator seems to have a complaint which ends in "where's mine?". Through youtube, I have observed pure communists blaming capitalism, anti-Semites blaming Jews, students blaming banks who demand payment on loans, homeowners with too-high monthly installments, and the usual panhandlers and fakes. Altogether, they compose a sub-society unable to cope with the current economic condition but who otherwise have contributed to its poor state by their ignorance and apathy.

Now it comes to attention that these protesters are being overrun by their own kind. Food, always scarce in such settings, has become dear due to an influx of homeless and criminals. The cooks in charge have decided that conditions are so unbearable they must begin to revolt against their own revolution! In response, a small task force has gathered to police the areas from becoming soup kitchens for vagrants. If you like, militias have organized. Welcome to the real world, where resources are limited and private property must be protected.

It has also been published that many who populate the park during the day are abandoning their tents for warmer abodes, and this conjecture has been proven by heat-imaging technology. The cold and rain, as well as the burgeoning swell of human refuse and stink, has finally forced some with a sensibility of entitlement to rethink their communal ideology. Somewhere inside, they are nostalgic for a comfy couch, Doritos, and their favorite TV program.

In short, they are true Americans in that they are individualists. They cannot help but say inside, "I'm not going to make it. It's too hard." And it is. Even the very tough capitalist system, even the crony capitalism of corporate-governmental collusion, is better than a neanderthal existence in a primordial ooze of anarchy and free love. Not that I prefer the slavery of big government to roughing it, but I must admit that the American system is structured to make each of us complacent in its relative ease. I am spoiled. They are spoiled. They are us.

At this moment comes the lesson, if it can be applied. For rather than returning to the depressed and divided gloom which they knew before coming to Zuccotti Park, they have the opportunity to make for themselves a better life. This Occupy movement can be, if any have the flexibility and leadership, a way to incorporate new ideas into the American bloodstream. While outside the system, they have the greatest chance to create lasting relationships and to give exposition on their highest selves. Thus, they may reenter with resolve to form businesses, run for political office, or even to only find a job wherever fate may lead.

From this current seed of arrogance can spring humility. From this moment of ineptness may follow capability. From this day of alienation will perhaps come fraternity which leads to prosperity. There is hope. Those who have visited these misguided, or left blog posts for them, or even spoken to them through radio and television, have all contributed to an education which they have sorely needed. Now it is up to them to at some point renege disenfranchisement and to embrace a common ground from which they may profit. Not that we should cease to condemn their communist, anti-Semitic, anti-capitalist, antisocial, or other negative behaviors; but now that we each have the others' respective attention, much is possible.