Versailles
What kind of person vows to eliminate public funds to improve the health of a nation? What kind of person loudly fights to dismantle social security benefits for the elderly and disabled? What kind of citizen maintains that government should have nothing to do with alleviating human suffering? How realistic or sincere is the politician who claims that human needs in society should be met by social entrepreneurs, who will somehow personally profit from meeting those needs?
Perhaps the answer can be found at Versailles, where the sentiments and harsh realities of the French Revolution are being obscured by the development of a luxury hotel within the palace complex. The new international aristocracy will be able to stroll around the Versailles gardens with a sense of tenancy. The resurrection of the powerful over the mob.
How many Tea Party members will smugly make reservations for a luxury stay at Versailles, paid for by their tax breaks and loopholes, delivered by a cowed Republican Party? How many self-identified Liberal Americans with incomes of $250,000 will spend some of their new tax break on Versailles vacations?
As a humanist, I am concerned with the callous indulgence of the wealthy in the face of world-wide environmental and economic crises. It speaks to a movement away from social responsibility and progress among those whose wealth could make a significant difference in every life on the planet. While their non-profit foundations are being publicized constantly in corporately owned media, the wealthy are still loudly asserting their divine right to do whatever their money can buy with impunity. This includes buying the U.S. government and perhaps the French government for their own purposes.
Perhaps the answer can be found at Versailles, where the sentiments and harsh realities of the French Revolution are being obscured by the development of a luxury hotel within the palace complex. The new international aristocracy will be able to stroll around the Versailles gardens with a sense of tenancy. The resurrection of the powerful over the mob.
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| Jacques Demarthon/AFP/Getty Images |
As a humanist, I am concerned with the callous indulgence of the wealthy in the face of world-wide environmental and economic crises. It speaks to a movement away from social responsibility and progress among those whose wealth could make a significant difference in every life on the planet. While their non-profit foundations are being publicized constantly in corporately owned media, the wealthy are still loudly asserting their divine right to do whatever their money can buy with impunity. This includes buying the U.S. government and perhaps the French government for their own purposes.
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