OPINION:
Those in the Occupy crowd appear to miss one simple point: The problem at hand isn’t capitalism, but human greed, which can be found in any system, now and since the beginning of time (“Occupy D.C. deadline passes with rancor, no arrests,” Web, Monday).
Greed covers the whole cross-section of society, with union leaders as greedy as any banker. As powerful a force as human greed is, though, a more powerful force is the human emotion of jealousy, a cause of death to kings and queens throughout the millennia and of the fall of many empires.
Rather than engage in small-minded class envy (and foment it, as President Obama does), the Occupiers should all understand that America is every bit that land of opportunity the world has always known her to be. This is the case whether you paint walls, deliver envelopes door-to-door, mow grass or undertake any number of other endeavors. As long as you can earn enough of a living to afford a house, furnish it, put a car in the driveway and raise a family, you have fulfilled the American Dream. Those for whom that great truth isn’t enough to succeed here in America are those who are likely to fail anywhere they may be.
It’s disconcerting that any sitting president would not admonish people who defecate on our police cars, rape women in their tents, attack those in uniform who serve and protect us, and sing and scream anti-American lyrics and chants. Instead, Mr. Obama encourages this “movement” or ignores it altogether.
What’s more, his attacks on Republicans as being only “for the rich” while he casts himself as being for the working class is downright dishonest.
We can all acknowledge that greed within the ranks of the rich is ugly without demanding something for nothing and without attacking police officers in the streets of U.S. cities. Lies and divisive tactics from the leadership of the Democratic Party as we head into the full swing of a presidential election season should be condemned by all Americans.
ROB ARNOLD
Arlington
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