Charles Payne at the DHFC West Coast Retreat: The Real Class Struggle Is the Poor Supressing Their Own
Walter Hudson
NewsReal Blog
4/14/2011
There is a struggle between the classes, we are told. The haves are dominating the have-nots. If only the oppressive wealthy would let up and allow the poor to rise, there would be social justice and equality.
It has been an effective narrative. But it has ignored the tremendous social pressure placed upon “have-nots” by members of their own community.
Consider Charles Payne. You might recognize him from his regular guest appearances on the Fox Business Network. Payne is the CEO and Chief Analyst of Wall Street Strategies, sought after for his market opinions. But he didn’t start there.
In his keynote address at David Horowitz’s recent West Coast Retreat, he spoke of his rise from rags to riches, and the upward mobility available in America. The oldest of three brothers, Payne spent his early years as an army brat at Fort Lee in Virgina. He recalls being content with simple pleasures. His parent’s relationship was strained, however. Eventually, his mother moved the boys to Harlem where Payne caught his first glimpse of true poverty. Payne describes a loss of innocence in an environment where “wineos, junkies, and hobos” were common decor.
Necessity forced him to begin working at the age of 13. It was then that he learned the value of money. It occurred to him that earning more would improve his standard of living. To his young mind, that meant working on Wall Street. So he sought an education in finance, by stealing copies of the Wall Street Journal.
It was easy, because no one thought the black kid over looking by the Journal was going to steal it.
Remarkable as this aspiration was, it did not come without consequence…
…The Left is the political expression of this class herding phenomenon. To the Left, the greatest sin is personal achievement, particularly professional distinction and commercial success…
…Ask yourself. Would Edison have created the bulb if he cared more about normalcy than achievement? Would Ford have produced the Model T? Would Gates or Jobs be the men they are today, having elevated our capacity for productivity, if they conceded to the lower expectations of society?
This is why our contemporary concept of equality, which long ago ballooned beyond the confines of equal treatment under the law, is fundamentally immoral. It turns exceptionalism into a vice. It makes a sin of achievement. It regards distinction as audacity. It is a savage talisman of mediocrity, an idol of regression, the bane of human endeavor. It must be heaped with unbridled contempt upon the inglorious pyre of history.
Read this entire article at NewsReal Blog.
Walter Hudson is a political commentator and co-founder of Minnesota’s North Star Tea Party Patriots, a statewide educational organization. He runs a blog entitled Fightin Words. He also contributes to True North, a hub of Minnesotan conservative commentary. Follow his work via Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
