Rich people are all greedy, that’s the political mantra. It certainly would be useless to claim that there is no greed among the rich. But it would not likely be accepted by many, if not most, to point out that not all rich people are greedy.
Greed is an attitude toward wealth, not the mere possession of it. The most misquoted verse in the Bible is found in 1 Timothy 6:10, which is almost always rendered, “Money is the root of all evil.”
Paul actually says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Abraham, we are told, was very rich, and yet we are also assured that he was a righteous man, a man of faith. It is not what one has in the way of this world’s wealth which makes one good or evil, but what he does with what he has, little or much.
I think it is evident that there is a much more widespread evil among us than greed, and it can easily turn murderous. While greed has an uncontrolled desire for things, envy also desires things which others have, and, in addition, despises those who have what the envier does not.
Envy is the root of populist politics. It is planted, watered and cultivated by political demagogues who use it to further their grasp for power. How many politicians in Washington, D.C., of any party, do you know who are poor when they leave office? Envy begets entitlement, and entitlement begets power for the politicians who bestow it and nurture it (it’s called pork).
There is even a false political/financial theory called “zero-sum total.” It teaches that wealth is a finite and fixed quantity, and the only way a person can prosper beyond his neighbor is to take what belongs to the ones who have not prospered. Contrary to this notion, wealth can be produced by hard work and ingenuity.
This is a wealth which deprives no one else, and such prosperity should be encouraged and applauded, not confiscated.
Riley T. Jay
Seneca
Opinion
Voices: Greed! Nasty word!
- Opinion
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Our View: Victims should come first
Millions of dollars in donations have poured in from around the world since the May 22, 2011, tornado. Those donations represent money from lemonade stands, charity auctions, corporate gifts and celebrity checks, just to name a few. In fact, one year later donations continue to come to Joplin.
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Beth Meeker, guest columnist: Same-sex marriage battle a quest for equal rights
I would like to take a moment to reply to guest columnist Anson Burlingame’s, “The Marriage Debate” (Globe, May 13).
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Sunday Forum: 2012 graduation speakers key on tornado, mall school and president’s visit
Editor’s note: In addition to speeches by President Barack Obama and Gov. Jay Nixon, Joplin High School’s top students addressed graduates, faculty, parents and other guests packed into the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on the Missouri Southern State University campus. Following are the text of those speeches.
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Geoff Caldwell, guest columnist: Pack mentality takes truth as a casualty
President Obama’s Joplin graduation speech Monday showed that while there’s the political “right,” there’s also a very active “rabid” political right.
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Your View: ‘Study’ can mean anything
A few evenings ago, I watched a television program on the science of marriage.
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Our View: Support for museum
How can you tell the story of Joplin without the accounts of its mining history?
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Our View: Finding middle ground
The G-8 summit held last week in Camp David ended as expected.
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Anson Burlingame, guest columnist: Class of 2012 upholds character, hope
My oldest granddaughter was part of the class of 2012 from Joplin High School, and I attended the ceremony on Monday night.
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Scott Charton, guest columnist: 'Deadline in Disaster' film a story about storytellers
Local newspapers are at their best when they help their communities confront, understand, endure and overcome shared challenges.
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Our View: Make voting easiser
This year’s ballot will not include a proposed constitutional amendment that photo identification be required at the polls in Missouri. Good.
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