The morally compromised US middle class

The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in
the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the
elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life--the sick, the needy and
the handicapped.
- Hubert Horatio Humphrey, US Vice President (1911-1978)

Humphrey was a pharmacist before entering politics, thus developed a sensitivity toward those whose lives were most compromised by their health or the political environment in which they lived.

He failed in his bid to become president because the largest component of voters, the secure and healthy middle class, did not share his sympathies for those on the margins.

Only a few decades later, the percentages of US citizens in each of these "marginal" categories has increased dramatically.

A now smaller (by percentage) middle class, that went along with its leaders in ignoring the marginal minorities, now rigidly follows the baton of their industrialist leaders whose primary interest is and always has been their own wealth and power.

The weak, the helpless, the powerless are left to fend for themselves. Should they happen to be victims of Hurricane Katrina, for example, they could have died while waiting for rescue. The vote-powerful middle class of the US has totally forgiven its administration for leaving poor and helpless people to die or starve for several days before providing emergency services that could have been available when the storm hit.

The strong and healthy middle class forgives itself easily for ignoring those on the margins. After all, those who drop from the strong and healthy middle class to the weaker margins disappear beyond their horizon, thus giving the remaining middle class voters the impression that they are still "in charge."

Their leaders in the US Administration repeatedly tell the strong and healthy middle class that they are still the largest component of voters and that they are still in charge.

The middle class believes.

Bill Allin
'Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today's Epidemic Social Problems,' striving to shine a light in the daarkness.
Learn more at http://billallin.com/cgi/index.pl