the attitude with arnie arnesen the tues edition noon to 1pm EST Nov 25

[Arnie Arnesen]

The Attitude with arnie arnesen

opening thoughts: Abigail Disney talks about the rich

producers: Dave Scott and Stephanie Collins

Chloé LaCasse (the best of the attitude)

streaming live at wnhnfm.org noon & 7pm EST on the dial-94.7FM Concord NH

podcasts available at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/attitude-with-arnie-arnesen/id1634055179

opening thought 

what Abigail Disney said about the rich:

The Rich Should Be Paying More—and Yes, That Means Me https://newrepublic.com/article/196195/rich-pay-more-taxes

The last 50 years have been a sickening catastrophe for the working class and have created another class of people who really do think they’re better than everyone else. There is an obvious cure for their unearned sense of entitlement.

Mundane as it is to invoke F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous reflection that the rich are different, it is nevertheless important to note that he made the observation in times not unlike our own, when the gap between rich and poor was breathtakingly wide and the country only a stone’s throw away from a great collapse, triggered, in large part, by the very excesses the corporate class had bullied into existence.

The very wealthy think they are different, too, but not in the way Fitzgerald had in mind. The Andreessens and Thiels of the world would have you believe that the difference between them and everyone else is that they possess abilities, powers of discernment, and work ethics unique to people like them, and that their wealth is not only a direct result of those enviable traits but also a reflection of their superiority. Whether Fitzgerald had something else in mind I cannot say, but in my experience, the rich are different because money changes them.

To be clear, I am a member of the class of which I now speak. I’m a long way from being a billionaire, but I’m rich enough to tell you that we are all warped. Not only is the unearned and unasked-for wealth I have enjoyed no indication of my own nobility; it’s quite the opposite. The rich are different because of the way we’ve been shaped by all the things that come with wealth: entitlement, impunity, narcissism, isolation, inability to share power, unwillingness to take criticism, trifling access to natural human empathy, and a perversely cultivated ignorance, to name a few. The greater the wealth, the bigger the difference.

Privilege isn’t the problem in and of itself; it’s only positional. Slouching into privilege is the problem. An advantage like extreme wealth, inherited or earned, curdles quickly into entitlement. And when entitlement is widely distributed among the very powerful, it becomes everybody’s problem.

SHE ENDS THIS WAY:

The best piece of news I can give to my fellow millionaires and billionaires is this: All the highly curated evidence to the contrary, you are not special. No one is a loose electron, a rabid dog chasing his own tail, a piece of space garbage cast adrift into the great void. You were born and will die exactly as anyone else does, and when that time comes, I wonder if your treasured specialness will be a comfort or a regret. I’m willing to bet that the VIP pass you have leaned on all this time has caused you to miss some of the best parts of a life lived with kindness, with gentleness, and with a love that reaches past your immediate surroundings. No, we are not just individuals. We are much more than that. As Gwendolyn Brooks so beautifully put it, “We are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”

As it turns out, every rewarding experience I’ve had, every beautiful moment I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy, has happened in one way or another because of the communities of which I am only one part. My children’s godparents, my oldest friends, and my wisest mentors all came to me in the process of my abnegating everything that any average outside observer might say makes me privileged, special, or extraordinary.

part one: Slavery’s brutal reality shocked Northerners before the Civil War − and is being whitewashed today by the White House   https://theconversation.com/slaverys-brutal-reality-shocked-northerners-before-the-civil-war-and-is-being-whitewashed-today-by-the-white-house-266424

• bio: Associate Professor of Journalism, Indiana University

Gerry Lanosga’s research and teaching revolve around the practice of journalism in both contemporary and historical settings. In particular, his interests include the development of journalism as a profession, prize culture in journalism, and journalism’s intersections with public policy.

part two: How Trump Has Exploited Pardons and Clemency to Reward Allies and Supporters  https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-pardons-clemency-george-santos-ed-martin

bio  Jeremy Kohler a St. Louis-based reporter covering Missouri and the Midwest. At ProPublica, my reporting has focused on government accountability, law enforcement and the influence of money in public policy. 

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KEEPING THE POT STIRRED SO SCUM DOESN'T RISE TO THE TOP -  Anonymous 

D. ARNIE ARNESEN
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Host of "The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen"

Award Winning Public Affairs Show (NHAB 2018)

airs noon to 1pm and 7pm EST M-F at 94.7FM (concord nh)

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