No one, no matter how detached or apolitical, is immune from class warfare. No one can say they're removed from the never-ending conflict between the ultra wealthy and working families. All history, after all, is the history of class struggle.
Even libertarians, locked away in their cabins, haughtily chastising those on the left and the right, are part of the class war. They may stroke their enormous beards and disagree, but they are, no matter what they say to their Ayn Rand posters before they drift off at night.
We all have to pick a side, intentionally or by default.
I have an entry in "96 Ways to Rise And Grind" based on this economic and political fight between the haves and have nots -- with the have-some-wants-mores sandwiched between the warring factions: "Rise and pick a side in the class war, think of yourself as a person of the people, for the people, keep trying to get rich and grind."
Such is the cry of the petty bourgeoisie, those on the fringes of the comfortable monied class who strive like hell to keep what they have, even when it means allying with the wealthy for whom they hold a fine mix of jealousy and contempt. Many in this sub-class know there is a war raging between the classes, and think it best to remain neutral, or inactive. Even those who sympathize with the have-nots, like the 3.7 million people working for starvation wages at fast food joints, shield their eyes to the horrors wrought by the ruling class, whose only goal is to crush any person or entity that threatens their economic supremacy.
A member of the petty bourgeoisie might think of himself as a natural ally of working class people, but do little or nothing to join their battle against the economic elite that create misery for everyone. That's me.
I was horrified to read a few months back that the county executive in my ultra-liberal Maryland county struck down a county council measure that would have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Even that wage hike would barely qualify as a living wage in one of the most expensive areas of the United States. The $15 measure, which would lift wages for more than 41 million Americans by 2024 if instituted nationally, went down with barely a whisper of protest. No rallies. No indignation. No one rioted. There was barely a peep from county and state lawmakers, all of whom are ostensibly Democrats.
Fifteen bucks an hour would've changed the lives of hard-working people in all manner of industries, helping women and men meet basic needs: the rent, food, clothing, transportation, perhaps a wild luxury like a night at the movies. And where was I while this near victory for workers was snuffed out? I was at home, comfortable, paying no mind to those who struggle to survive in an economy where all new income goes to the top 1 percent -- the elite of the elite. I was on the sideline.
This isn't an exercise in self flagellation -- I do enough of that on fantasy football Sundays -- but rather an observation that I too often take the side of the wealthy in the the class war. My inaction makes it so. The middle class has and always will be a veritable hotbed of political reactionaries scared stiff that they might lose the precious resources they've worked so hard to gain. I feel that pressure. Maybe you do too.
We choose sides of the class war every day, driven by a paralytic fear of losing what is ours. Recognizing that, I hope, is a step in siding against those who secure and hoard wealth to the detriment of working families who have less today than they've ever had.
The haves at the head of the federal government are wreaking terror on workers like never before, destroying worker protections, rewarding companies that systematically steal wages from working people, making workplaces less safe, and erecting barriers for workers trying to access basic unemployment benefits. They're waging war without apology. Their destruction of working communities is unencumbered by manners. Perhaps that's for the best: honesty is the best policy.
Rise and pick a side in the class war. Because it's there, and it's hotter than ever.