A growing separation

Confucius once said, “In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” Whether or not if this is an attack on either side, we can conclude that there must be some sort of balance amongst the rich and poor. Poor people in a “well governed” society are contradictory as well as the wealthy in a badly-operated government. What makes the upper-class so different from the lower-class people anyways? Money shouldn’t be a deciding factor as to what causes this separation. In fact any sort of material good shouldn’t define a person’s lifestyle. Even with the lack of material goods poor people seem to have stronger moral values than the wealthy. They have become more appreciative of their possessions rather than taking them for granted. Not every wealthy person should be acknowledged as ungrateful and egotistical. These are derogatory terms and shouldn’t be used to classify an entire group of individuals. In a badly governed society however, these would be more accepted among those who aren’t in such a high status. The idea of an equal and free nation can’t be widely –accepted as it used to be. A simple drive through downtown Los Angeles is enough to broaden one’s mind on such a concept. The unfortunate individuals-who live their lives on the streets- don’t have many options as to what do they want to do, and what they can do. Despite government welfare programs there has been an increase in poverty and the gap between rich and poor has grown substantially. It is within their own self-interest to make the lives of many worse for the advancement of their own; the life which everyone deserves. In order not to be ashamed of such a thing it would be ideal for an equal class system, having everybody including the “higher” individuals to distribute the wealth among the members of that society. Confucius lived in a period before the idea of communism arose; a period in which society consisted of only rich and poor. I would not like to be considered a communist, but if done right –whenever that’ll be- communism can appeal to Confucius’s ideals and work as well. However, in a society whose infrastructure was built so that anyone can live the life they desire, some individuals would prefer to find easier alternatives to accomplish things. With the accomplishments of the hard-working members paying off and the failures of the lazier individuals take their toll, this separation begins to emerge. An entire argument can be formed off whose fault it is, but then it would be a matter of pointing fingers and blaming it on the government. It’s not the social structures fault, but the people themselves who make this separation. Although it remains true that there’s a noticeable gap between rich and poor, there’s not much we as a society can do about it.