RE: Rags to riches stories why they tick me off.
May 10, 2015 at 10:24 pm
(This post was last modified: May 10, 2015 at 10:31 pm by Anomalocaris.)
(May 10, 2015 at 8:16 pm)Minimalist Wrote:Quote:Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth.
Jean Rostand
All I am missing in my life is the millions with which I can show showcase my fortitude.
(May 10, 2015 at 8:26 pm)AFTT47 Wrote:(May 10, 2015 at 8:10 pm)Brian37 Wrote: Don't get me wrong, nobody should fault someone for moving up.
But every so often I see a fluff piece on the news or a famous actor, or musician or sports star or businessman that says "you can do it". YES you can try certainly.
BUT I see far too much of this crap and it is never countered with the reality of the math. The higher up you try to go in something the math simply is not there for everyone to get to that top spot.
Society doesn't need more fluff pieces like that. What society needs is better worker pay and cheaper or free higher education. The fact remains most people will end up worker for someone else.
Even evolution shows this, for every successful life that makes it to maturity there are far more attempts that fail. For every sperm that gets to an egg, there are millions more that do nothing. For every tree that grows to maturity there are far more acorns that rot.
NO that is not to discourage anyone. But it is to say I hate the top selling that utopia when what they should be doing is providing stability to the vast majority of society, which are workers.
I disagree. There is value in inspiration. The odds are against anyone who tries, true enough. But it's people like Bill Gates and Elon Musk who lead the way. Where would we be if we discouraged (or failed to encourage) innovation like that?
Neither bill gates nor Leon musk were ever poor, much less in rags. To manufacture rags to rich story to divert the attention of those in rags from the reality that odds against their gaining any semblance of riches are worse in the U.S. than in many other places is nothing but opiat for those in rags.
As to encouraging those in rags to attain riches, they are much better encouraged by actual chances than by fictional chances.
