Submitted for its potential sociological interest
By Mrs. Joe X, a resident of San Angelo, TX, writes in response to this:
“It is only 8:30 in the morning and I have had my laugh for the day. It is impossible to believe that a “constitutional scholar” such as yourself would attempt to convince the American people that the redistribution of wealth has actually benefited the super wealthy. Only a fool living in “la la liberal land ” would think in those terms. For those of us in the real world, the facts tell a different story. Please give me one example where socialism succeeded. Just one. Europe, Russia, Cuba, or the wonderful state of Michigan? The human spirit desires freedom, ownership, working hard and being proud. Say for a
moment that the United States evenly divided all the money and assets. Everyone started out with the same amount. One year later, I guarantee that you would have those that squandered everything, did not save a cent,and refused to work. And then you would have those that worked hard, invested, saved, and produced. In essence, I am saying that after one year, things would be back to where they are now. We are a country of hard working achievers as well as individuals content to feed at the public trough and believe they are entitled to every government handout. John Edwards was right after all–there are two America’s. Those that work hard and build something and those who live in an entitlement world.My husband and I have a successful cotton farming operation here in Texas. We have built a legacy for our children and grandchildren. He has worked like a SOB his entire life. If you and your liberal/socialist/communist ilk think that we are going to stand idly by while you attempt to take it away and “redistribute” our lifetime of work to individuals who have no ambition and refuse to better themselves-you have misjudged us (and the American people).Joe the plumber must have really touched a nerve on the left. To write an asinine column about the super wealthy benefiting from the redistribution of wealth is an insult and a stretch for anyone who has any understanding of economics and the free market.I know that there are people who need our help and assistance. But we have become a nation of “takers”. The government is not our benevolent father and we don’t need the government to tell us what to do.Your ideology is code for “let’s make everyone equally poor and governed by the elite few”. Of course, the elite few would include intellectuals and scholars such as yourself.”
I suppose the email columnists get is only slightly more respectable than conversations Tom Friedman has had with cab drivers the world over as a source of social insight, but I do get a lot of missives that sound exactly like this. The translation device in these peoples’ heads is extremely powerful.
On a tangential note, I enjoy reading Andrew Sullivan’s site for both straightforward and ironic reasons, and in the latter category I especially enjoy the “email recognizing the blogger’s unique insights, courage and intelligence” genre.