Good morning, God, and thank you much for this new day in our lives. I really do appreciate having another day on this planet to live and grow and learn and give. There have been many, many people on this planet who have not had as much time as I've had, living in a time of plenty as I do.
I've been thinking a lot about all the hatred and fear that we've been witnessing over the last few months as our ridiculous election process came to a head. It astonishes me that so many people who have so much as a result of the society that's been built here can do so much to try to hurt others. It amazes me that those who have the most so often do the least to share what they have. It makes me sad to see that their preferred method of trying to persuade someone to vote for one candidate is to harm the reputation of the other one.
It was really pretty obvious, also, that much of the anger directed at our president had to do with his race. The fact that there are still people who hold on to racist ideologies sickens me, especially when they expose our children to those thoughts and perspectives. That sort of garbage is the last thing that we need our children to be learning if we want our society to grow and develop. Racism just throws us back many years into a dark time when people were so afraid of life that they had to subjugate other people to make themselves feel better about their own lives.
I understand that fear is one of the primary motivators among humans, but after all these years of learning how to deal with it, why do we still have so many people who spread fear for their own gain, and so many people who buy into what they're spreading? It's sad and despicable that people who have plenty can try to make others fearful so that they can continue to have plenty.
An answer:
Everyone wants to maintain that which they've gained. No one wants to spend their lives creating and building a legacy--even if that legacy is as fleeting as financial wealth--only to lose it. The people of which you speak may be among the wealthiest among you, but they're also among the most fearful. Could you imagine what it would be like to go through each day working mostly just to maintain the fortune that you've built, instead of going through the day trying to give to others and contribute to the world in positive ways? Yes, you do have money worries, and yes, you have lost an awful lot over the last four years, but imagine what that loss would have looked like had you been wealthy.
And of course, you can make the argument, "Had I been wealthy, I wouldn't have lost all that." But keep in mind that often, in order to maintain one's wealth, one must risk huge amounts of money. If those risks go bad, of course, it's possible that one can lose virtually everything. In your situation, you know how to live frugally and it doesn't affect you negatively in the least. But if you had gotten used to luxury and a wealthy lifestyle, it wouldn't be nearly as easy for you to make the change to a lifestyle that's predicated on saving money and watching your spending closely.
You also don't have the fear of what you'll look like in other people's eyes. One of the most destructive forces among the wealthy is their tendency to put much, MUCH importance on appearances. They feel that they have to appear perfect at all times, and it's difficult to express the damage that they do to themselves and to their families when they adopt that need as a lifestyle.
In short, much of the anger and hatred that the world witnessed was a result of the fear of loss, the fear that if one candidate was elected, the conditions that tend to favor the wealthy (because they've made them up, of course, with the power the money has brought them) would soon be diminished, and without that favor, they may have to struggle more to survive. The last thing they want is a level playing field, for that takes away their advantages. That's just how it is. And when there's a threat of change, no matter how positive that change would be for the country as a whole, there are always some who will fear that change and the changes that they'd be forced into. Fear is a huge factor in life, and when you have more to lose, you have more to fear.
What interests me is that all the attacks and all the fear-mongering didn't seem to work. This time. That seems like a step forward.
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