After reading the recent news about protests against Elon Musk and his role in the Trump Administration, I felt troubled.
Of course, people have a right to voice their opposition to the South African’s unelected role in American government, considering his companies’ numerous federal contracts. Conflicts of interest are inherent and obvious in this case.
However, painting with too broad of a brush is not helpful. I refer to protesters at New York City Tesla dealership chanting ‘We need clean air, not another billionaire!’ among other things. Granted, this was a quickly-thought-up slogan aimed at whipping up the crowd, not presenting a policy position.
Still, demonizing billionaires as a group–pitting the blue collars against the blue bloods–is misguided and destructive. While Elon Musk is easy to despise, other billionaires like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are not.
Being rich does not equate to being evil. Maturity acknowledges nuance and even contradictions in life. Shades of grey and untidy realities abound.
And while I cherish free speech and look forward to it having a long and healthy life, I am suspicious of those who attempt to leverage a legitimate complaint–Musk’s outsized, reckless, and dangerous role in US government–into a broader attack on those who are wealthy.
The last thing we need at this moment in history is a class war, regardless of how deserving a few individuals in the 1% are.
I’ve said before that the rich man should know how the poor man lives, and the poor man should know how the rich man works.
I’ll amend that by saying that both the rich and the poor benefit from democracy. We should ignore instigators who attempt to divide us, and focus on the real issues in front of us.
- BGT