The Middle Class

We have all been hearing a lot about the "middle class" lately and, honestly, I'm beginning to feel insulted by the references.  Much of this feeling probably stems from Barbara Tuchman's book, A Distant Mirror, which I am currently reading.

To try to provide a bit of perspective, I have read Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) and I confess to a sense of horror and revulsion while reading the first quarter or so of the book.  I get it that Congressman Ryan felt the same things.  By the time I reached the end of the book, though, I was experiencing feelings that were the same but directed at the conclusions reached by Ms Rand.  From this I am willing to entertain the possibility that Congressman Ryan quite possibly never finished the book.  If he did then I'm forced to feel horror and revulsion at his conclusions.

A Distant Mirror is a history of the 14th Century in Europe.  The period from 1300 AD to 1400 AD certainly suggests itself as a distant mirror of our own times.  There was schism in what at that time was THE Christian church prompted by political concerns on the part of Church leaders.  Two Popes in two different capitals was the result.  Nobility was a constant theme.  "What is the noble choice?" the question most frequently asked by those in charge (who were, of course, those of noble genetic line).

The "companies," marauding bands of soldiers led by knights (who were nobles) without property, terrorized the countrysides of Europe and were ignored by the King and the landed nobles.

The Black Death made several appearances, killing nearly two-thirds of the population.  This was a serious drain on the economy but, of course, "the ecomony" was an unrecognized concept.  The King and The Church still had need of revenues to fund the lifestyles in which they had grown accustomed and the only source of those revenues was the Middle Class which was taxed unmercifully.

Education was not a concept that entered into any planning by the nobles and they paid bitterly during uprisings by the peasants and middle class when there was indiscriminate killing and destruction.  Fine distinctions as to who or what was responsible for suffering were beyond the abilities of people whose sources of information were gossip and the King's crier.

The most overwhelming indictment of the Nobles was quite simply that neither had knowledge of nor consideration for the lives lived by anyone else.  Glory and wealth (both obtained through constant warfare) were the reason (and reason enough) for whatever actions they chose to take.

The source of my discontent is the apparent notion (in our classless nation) held by a "leader class" that there are in fact lower classes which they may use for whatever ends suit them.  I'm quite sure that this is the source for much of the dissatisfaction we are seeing around the world as well.  The U.S. (leaders) sees itself as the upper class among nations with the duty to pillage and occasionally protect the lower class nations.

"Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it."