“I always like to look on the bright side of things. And the fact that leftists cannot be happy with the amazing advances and innovations capitalism has put in their green little hands, and choose instead to obsess over the petty and microscopically “better” things the “rich” have to the point it ruins their lives is justice and revenge enough for me. Understand this and understand this well about leftists. They are miserable people who will waste their entire, precious lives being envious of what others have instead of appreciating what they have. And when the day comes that they’re on their death bed, all they will have to point to is a life of whining, complaining, hatred, and jealousy.
A worse punishment does not exist.”
“When an evil masochist dies, does he go to hell, or would heaven be a better punishment?”
– Steven Wright
I think the author is saying inside every leftist is a selfish materialistic poseur.
I knew this long ago.
and rest assured, when a leftist revolution takes hold, where does the hard right aristocracy elites wind up? in the very same prisons courtesy the former downtrodden new leftard bosses formerly occupied.
it’s human nature to abuse power.
This question reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode from way back.
This hustler died and was met by a guide. He was taken to this living room, where an old couple was showing interminable travel slides to another old couple. He watched for a little while, but was bored to tears. He asked the guide when will he be taken to Hell with all the fire and brimstone and she-devils with whips. The guide answered that this was it, this living room was his Hell.
Dejectedly, he asked were the two couples in Hell too. The guide answered oh no, they are in Heaven.
Going back to the article, I remember another one from the fifties where the author opined that poverty was a gentle mistress if you are not aware of her existence. He gave examples of perfectly content people in the backwoods of Appalachia, living in sheds with a washer outside the back door. He said what ruined all of that was television, which showed how the rest of the country lived.
“The Democrats. Sigil a donkey. Motto: There’s always a victim.”
about minute 1:50
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojubI-sYwho
Cappy is channeling Henry Hazlitt:
“The whole gospel of Karl Marx can be summed up in a single sentence: Hate the man who is better off than you are. Never under any circumstances admit that his success may be due to his own efforts, to the productive contribution he has made to the whole community. Always attribute his success to the exploitation, the cheating, the more or less open robbery of others. Never under any circumstances admit that your own failure may be owing to your own weakness, or that the failure of anyone else may be due to his own defects – his laziness, incompetence, improvidence, or stupidity.”
― Henry Hazlitt
Without discontent, socialism dies. So, to be socialist means you must be angry. It is a necessary and sufficient condition for socialism.
I once had a boss who was the epitome of that. He wanted to climb up through the pecking order–by hook or by crook, if necessary. But he was stalled in that job because he wasn’t all that bright or talented.
When being a sycophant and lickspittle didn’t help, he resorted to “racism” as the reason he wasn’t promoted out of his position.
A real charmer, he was.
Bravo Captain! You have just proven how much more “evolved” you are than the average leftist. And you have “triggered” another one of my life story’s (aka self-indulged ramblings) …
Lest you all believe I am some hateful, mean-spirited, right wing CHRISTIAN nut job … let me tell you a lesson about “life” that I learned from a poor Mexican-American family that I came to know. When I was coaching competitive soccer for U-12 boys … I had a young Mexican-American boy on my team – Carlos. Hey! he grew up with a soccer ball on his foot … and I wanted to WIN … so of course I picked him up during tryouts. Although his parents lived nearby, he didn’t go to the more toney schools or come from the decidedly upper middle class neighborhoods as most my other boys. Most of my team showed-up to practice driven in late model Cadillac Escalades, BMW’s, and tricked-out Euro SUV’s with flip-down TV’s. The boys wore $150.00 kangaroo skin (really!) Adidas soccer cleats that they changed-into from their NIKE Air Jordan’s. They were all listening to Kid Rock on their most expensive Apple IPods. They texted their moms after practice on their own iPhones. But most of the rich kids were terrific little players … because they all came from seriously Type-A parents who worked their asses-off every day chasing the goals and lifestyles their trophy wives demanded (note to whiney Leftists: most “rich” people work their asses off for their wealth). These parents spawned aggressive, tough little munchkins who were keenly aware of their parents shouting from the touchline … scrutinizing their play. Their soccer-mom’s were all tougher than I was (and I loved it). But here was little Carlos in the midst of this EXTREME wealth … and he was such a sweet kid … completely and utterly unaffected by his rich teammates. Of course he was interested in their trinkets … but appeared completely unaffected by them. Both of Carlos parents worked menial jobs; house cleaning, and landscape. They didnt have the free time to drive their son to and from practice and to some games. So I volunteered to ferry Carlos to and fro. Carlos was a sweet, unaffected kid … because his parents were sweet and unaffected. But they shared something with my wealthy parents … hard work, discipline, and character. But what really impressed me about Carlos’s family was their LOVE. Carlos’s family LOVED their children, and LOVED living in the US (legally, I might add). His family literally smothered each other with LOVE. Every time I dropped-off Carlos, he was smothered in LOVE by both his mom and dad. I never saw one little bit of jealousy, envy, or resentment toward the little rich kids or their rich parents. While my rich moms were scrutinizing the attire of our opponents mothers … Carlos’s mom would be sitting under a tree with 3 little kids crawling all over her. Carlos’s dad was playing soccer with his younger son. And their LOVE extended to me. They invited me to their family functions and get-togethers. They were beyond grateful that I was willing to ferry little Carlos around, and they showered the same LOVE on my own son. It was a real eye opener for me. How could these lower-class (economically) people be so content living in the land of luxury … luxuries that they would probably NEVER attain ? Because their “value system” was FAMILY. That was all that mattered to them. Their FAMILY. They were beyond grateful to be living in this fabulous country. They never saw themselves as “have-nots”. They had everything they would ever need … jobs, food (no, GREAT food! … BBQ), health, and a great FAMILY. They were too content, and too busy for envy. They would never march with LaRaza … they would never strike for “15”. Carlos’s family reminded ME … what is really important in life … each other, not things. They reminded me of what I have observed about most every (legal) immigrant I have ever met … gratitude. They were all sooooo grateful to be living in this beautiful, wonderful, lawful, country. American Leftists need to spend more time actually LIVING with the people they purport to “defend” against our horrible, awful, capitalist country. They might learn something.
Cappy is channeling the late, great Henry Hazlitt:
“The whole gospel of Karl Marx can be summed up in a single sentence: Hate the man who is better off than you are. Never under any circumstances admit that his success may be due to his own efforts, to the productive contribution he has made to the whole community. Always attribute his success to the exploitation, the cheating, the more or less open robbery of others. Never under any circumstances admit that your own failure may be owing to your own weakness, or that the failure of anyone else may be due to his own defects – his laziness, incompetence, improvidence, or stupidity.”
― Henry Hazlitt
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, I have certainly witnessed more than enough of this type of thinking especially during the long, dark years of NDP rule. The NDP and its supporters, as most people now realize, based their politics on fear, loathing and envy. Free enterprise and entrepreneurship were frowned upon and anyone industrious enough to earn a decent living was castigated for taking greedy advantage over those who did not possess the same level of work ethic or intelligence. Someone once remarked that a certain segment of the population was kept awake at night by the thought that someone, somewhere was making a buck. Every left-leaning person that I know allows his or her life to revolve around jealousy, envy and mistrust of anyone who owns a bigger house, a bigger car or takes expensive vacations even when these toys and activities were made possible through sheer hard work and determination.
Kenji;
More people have to read your story as it is all about what should be important to all citizens.
Growing up in small town western Canada rich/poor was not a serious consideration as the kids in the neighborhood I grew up with all seemed to be in the same situation as myself. Poverty did not come into my experience until Grade 3 when I became best friends with a Mohawk native. When I went to his house I soon realized that what I took for granted his family did not. A single mother with 8 kids. All the kids participated in school sports and the basics of life were provided by a hard working mother. Very close family.
My friend graduated high school, went back to Ontario and got a degree in computer science. He now owns his own company which employs over 900 workers. He gives back by mentoring native companies in the USA. He is an admirable role model for all people.
I want them all to live in the hell they think we should live in, FIRST. try it it then give us a call.
heaven will be heaven, what one thinks of it prior to death has no meaning. you may not get there.
Every Leftist NEEDS to read C.S. Lewis The Great Divorce. They will learn about heaven and earth … and most of all … mindset. There will be NO heaven for those who don’t now “believe” in God, or Heaven, or Hell. Not because it doesn’t exist … but because they are too self-absorbed to see it … even as they live in God’s creation. All that is needed for an eternity of HELL … is to “believe” you are your own “god ”
When we lived in Saudi Arabia, we very quickly learned that there was a certain sort of expat, who would not survive there, and likely wouldn’t last even through their six-month “probationary” period. These were the people who constantly complained about every little thing that wasn’t like they had it “back home”. While they were the sort of people who were generally unhappy with life in general, no matter where they happened to live, they quickly discovered that Saudi Arabia was the perfect place to be perfectly miserable.
Thanks for the beautiful, inspirarional story Kenji.
The nicest thing my wife of 48 years has ever said to me – not long ago — was that I didn’t have a jealous bone in my body. It really is true: envy makes for miserable lives.
In university about 50 years ago a friend, whose father was an on air CBC man, passed on his father’s saying: “deep in the heart of every socialist is a desire to own a Mercedes Benz.” I remember, at that tender age, nodding to this as I had already internalized this knowledge.
An old friend, an English ex-pat, used to tell me that in Britain the conservative scandals usually involved sex whereas labourite scandals usually involved money.
I have always said, ‘Never underestimate the power of envy in the world’.
Thank you, I appreciate that. I should add that when I was a poor college student with no family to rely upon (alcoholic father/absentee mother), and without a pot to piss in … I would look down my nose at all the suburbanites with their fancy cars and houses. I carried my poverty like a chip on my shoulder, believing that I had a more pure heart, more righteousness, etc. It was simple emotional compensation for the frustration of being a “have-not”. But I eventually grew out of this phase recognizing that we are ALL the same, despite the trappings of wealth (or poverty). And (as is typical) as I have gotten older, wiser, and more economically-comfortable … I have always refused to measure myself by cash $$$. God has ALWAYS provided for me. Sometimes I wasn’t so sure of it … but those were “character building” moments in time that made me one tough mutha-_-_ah. I could care less when a $ 130k shiny new Tesla slips into the Diablo Foods parking lot next to me. Meh. So someone is richer (or dumber) than me. It matters not. Did they smile at me or say hi, despite my aged car with dings and nicks ? That is how I measure their wealth. Have they transcended their wealth … or are they enslaved by it ? I pray for the latter cases.
My hope would be that all those black masked/hooded “Anarchists” who smash things and want to … “tear it all down maaaaan” … grow OUT of their impoverished sense of superiority. If I did … so can they.
Captain, well said. I enjoy Perkins food.
Kenji, great story. I also know people like that, including both mine and my wife’s families when they first came to Canada. Some of my and hers uncles and aunts as children had no shoes to wear. As well, we have had times in the 60s when we did not know where the next meal was coming from or a bleak Christmas for our children. Love, not giving up, and hard work brought us through. None ever supported socialism because it was socialism that made them homeless and shoe-less.
I grew up poor in cockroach infested apartments in northern Ontario. Parents had less than a high school education. They were hard-working people. Not dumb, just uneducated. However, provided food, shelter, clothing and not much else. Daddy was an addicted gambler and mommy was a tad bi polar. Life was interesting, but not all that pleasant There was me and my two brothers. The three of us were tight, but parents were somewhat aloof.
We went to school with the kids whose parents had money, but I don’t recall anyone ever feeling or showing resentment toward them. They didn’t actually flaunt it either. There were cliques, of course, but so what.
Fortunately, we grew up in the 40s 50s 60s in a safe clean town. No gangs, no drugs, no gunplay. We were safe in the streets and we all had peer groups that were out for a good time and not out to make trouble … except on Halloween. Some of the kids I hung with including one brother were busy learning to play a musical instrument and in summer, swimming …. we had lakes.
My point is … that back then, material goods were not as prolific as they are now. The toys we played with were Dinkey Toy cars and trucks, Hula Hoops, baseball, and of course cap pistols .. back then westerns and war movies were huge and not seen as negative influences, on the contrary. Girls had dolls, skipping ropes, ‘n stuff. Movies at that time promoted good things. There were great role models back then. For example .. Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Whip Wilson, Lash Larue, Tom Mix, The Durango Kid.
People like John Wayne, James Stewart, Allan Lad (“Shane”) Dois Day (“Calamity Jane”) … We didn’t have TV until the end of the 50s and there was nothing much on back then either. I remember “Father Knows Best”, “The Ed Sullivan Show,” The “Honey Mooners” and the Huckleberry Hound show with Yogi and Boo Boo etc. What a much nicer world than what we have now.
A lot of what is in the movies and on TV nowadays promotes violence, drugs, cheating, hate, greed, and envy. So do our current politicians.
My point is that there was a lot less envy back then and a much more civil, friendly society. We, nor our teachers ever talked politics. We knew that envy was bad. We were also taught that we had to work if we wanted ‘stuff’ …. So we knew we could get whatever we wanted, we just had to figure out what we had to do to get it. It all came down to a good job. One had to be willing to work hard. There are many particularly on the left that simply do not want to work. They want free shit all day long.
I noticed a big change after a few years of the Pierre E Trudeau reign. The beginnings of identity politics and multiculturalism started up and have so far nearly destroyed our society. It’s ain’t over yet. Trump is a good start, but our fool JT … he has got to go.
Hope that wasn’t too far off topic. I was contrasting how we were with how we are now. Our influences have taken a sharp turn for the worst.
what I find truly ironic is that the envy of the left doesn’t seem to extend to super rich hucksters like Gore, Hollywood Democrat mouth-pieces or uber hypocrites like Trudeau/DiCaprio et al. and when one points this out to these misguided twits they never address the fact but inevitably resort to some “but Harper/Trump” rant or one of the typical “progressive” standards that your a “denier”, racist, or some obe variant