Yesterday on Marketplace they described a Washington lobbyist's wife who has a "gift-wrapping room" in her house. Not only does she have a room just for that, she orders sheets of uncut money from the Treasury and uses them as wrapping paper. I won't go on and on about how emblematic of this administration that story seems -- but I can't get it out of my mind.
Fay Weldon once wrote -- after describing the very different meals two of her characters were enjoying (one was mega-rich and the other, due to plot twists, was in a state home for abandoned kids):
"If there is any real wickedness in the world, it is that the haves have so much and the have-nots have so little."
For awhile, the history of this county seemed to be about reducing the gap; but in my lifetime, it's grown. A lot.
I'm writing this here to get it out of my system - these kinds of thoughts do NOT help in writing a novel, even one that takes place (as my current novel does) in the early 1800s in England. Or maybe they do help -- maybe these feelings (like the ones in Anna's yoga training that put more energy into teaching) can fuel creating a world that's very different. A fictional world, that is.
3 comments:
I know exactly how you feel. A month or two ago, when gas prices were the highest they've been, and all we heard about were people doing losing their homes, the Today Show did a piece on the uber-wealthy in America. While so many are struggling, I didn't need to see stories about folks with 30 cars in the garage and how simply making more money was their goal in life.
I do think the gap is growing more quickly then ever, and it frustrates and saddens me.
Tricia! Thank you for responding...I hesitated to post this because I wasn't sure how interesting it would be to anyone else. It would good to know that you not only read it, you understand how I feel and even feel the same way. Thanks,
Libby
wrapping with money, eh? That's super. I hate the bush administration. Have you watched Frontline's Bush's War? Ugh. Sad stuff.
Post a Comment