Why do we do this to ourselves?

We are not born greedy, we are taught it, along with intolerance, racism and a whole host of other undesirable traits.

I’m a proud British citizen, although at times my pride is dented by some of the actions of my leaders. Much more than that, I’m a global citizen who cares about what we are doing to the world we inhabit. I have spent many happy times in the U.S. for both business and pleasure. My experience is, the American people are generous of spirit and at heart, compassionate and empathetic in nature. Yes a touch arrogant, born of being constantly told they live in the greatest nation on earth, but I’m partial to a good joke, so I can live with that.

With every fibre of my being, I believe regardless of which side of the Atlantic we inhabit, we can live in a more equitable society if we could just focus more on each other, and use our collective voice for the greater good. Wealth, far from dividing us, should provide the means to be more socially responsible. The sad reality is, it seems to turn people into fiscal hoarders rather than responsible citizens. All too often, the more wealth we gather, the greedier we become. Often the claim against anyone who does not support obscene wealth in the hands of a chosen few, is we are communists or Marxists. This is of course nonsense. I believe capitalism has been generally a force for good, but the problem arises as it morphs into unadulterated, unregulated greed at the expense of social responsibility. I believe wealth is a good thing, it can create an aspirational society, much as is expressed by the term ‘The American dream’. Most people can grasp the concept of a just reward for a hard days work. So what went wrong? It really is very simple, GREED.

No society has ever been equal, there are always winners and losers. The question is, should a child born into poverty or with a disability, be confined to a life of no social mobility? While there is some doubt as to America’s economic position in this new globalised economic environment, there is absolutely no reason for homelessness, healthcare driven bankruptcy and debilitating poverty. This is a product of who we are as a society and it does not reflect well on the governments we elect to improve our lives. The rich have convinced us, we should be grateful they live among us. To be fair they don’t. Most of them live in secure fortresses, merely overlooking the thiefdoms they’ve created. They tell us, if we’re not happy with them, they can take their money elsewhere, then what will we do?

The tragedy is, in Trump’s new Darwinistic world order, empathy and compassion have no economic value and are therefore seen as weakness. In the new world of me, me, me, there’s no room for even perceived vulnerability, because this marks you as a distressed asset to be exploited by those redefining our existence. I have never regarded my views on life as being those of a radical left activist. I am not a religious person. Despite being brought up a catholic, I long left behind the days of organised religion, preferring instead to build my thinking on a foundation of personal values. Values which help me advocate for others less fortunate than myself. Not that these values help me understand why equity, compassion and social justice have become dirty words.

We are not born greedy, we are taught it, along with intolerance, racism and a whole host of other undesirable traits. As a species, we don’t have a great track record when it comes to the tolerance of those less fortunate than ourselves. Our tribal instincts have taken us down some dark paths in history. This has led us to do terrible things to each other. It’s clear that acts of genocide and unspeakable cruelty, are derived from just one objective. To gain power and control over the masses.

Donald Trump is a symptom of a much bigger problem. He is merely the useful idiot for those who bought him the White House. He is the delivery mechanism for a world in which anyone not prepared to be economic slaves, should in the words of Curtis Yarvin, be “turned into biofuel”. You don’t have to look far to see this administration removing safeguards for the vulnerable and the disabled. They are doing this because the vulnerable in their eyes are a drag on their insatiable quest for obscene wealth.

It is so ironic that those who voted for Trump are in the same position as the Jews who were led into the gas chambers. They were told they needed to shower before being allowed to enjoy their new life. As the sign over Auschwitz reads, "Arbeit Macht Frei,", "Work Sets You Free," in Trump’s world the lies are no different. Over 230,000 Americans who believed in him, died unnecessarily during COVID, because he told them it was a hoax. They are now just empty seats at the breakfast table, mothers and fathers who left behind children. Loved ones never afforded the opportunity to realise their true potential.

I’ve thought long and hard about one fundamental question, ‘Why did we allow this to happen?”. There is absolutely no reason why human beings should vote against their best interest, yet that is exactly what millions of Americans did in November. There seems little doubt that humans are addicted to self affirmation, they love to be told that they are right. Before the age of social media, this affirmative dopamine hit was provided by public gatherings with likeminded people, much as we see at Trump rallies. Previously, that affirmation would then be enhanced by what we now term as ‘legacy media’. Newspapers had the power to influence elections as did cable news networks. This has all changed with the advent of social media.

If we think we have a problem now, wait until the next generation hits voting age. Never has there been a bigger societal imperative to educate our children than now. The must be taught engage in critical thinking, to challenge the ideas planted to gain their compliance. How can they elect great leaders, until they better understand the challenges of the world around them? I truly fear the low educated from this demographic will prove to be a lost generation when it comes to making informed decisions about who should govern them. We see this every day in current non college educated MAGA supporters. The enormous challenge ahead, is how do we break the fever that infects so many.

Tomorrow, we’ll examine the true impact of social media on political discourse and the challenges that Democrats have in navigating message distribution in 2026, assuming elections survive. Thanks again for taking to time to absorb my musings for the day. Hope you can join me again tomorrow?