In Defense of Rich Kids / What Can We Do? Becoming Part of the Solution

     William Wimsatt, the author of the first article, was born into wealth. His family describes themselves as upper-middle class and he stands to inherit a large amount of money in the not too distant future. Until this happens, he is very comfortable writing and being active for various causes. One such cause he is passionate about is the organization of wealthy people and their expenditure habits.

     This topic is where he begins to defend rich kids like himself. "Rich people don't choose to be born rich any more than poor people choose to be born poor" (Wimsatt, p. 511). He begins arguing that people automatically tend to push this class of people aside, finding little to relate to and often referring to them as simply spoiled. What Wimsatt is pushing for, is for others to understand that the money held by these people can potentially create a great deal of positive change in the world; grassroots organizations and hard work can only go so far without adequate funding. If instead of ridiculing, we urged these wealthy people to donate conscientiously and in a focused way, we could create the change we wish to see. The organization he is currently developing is seeking to do exactly that: organize wealthy people in order donate to specific causes in order to have the largest impact. Allan Johnson's article is similar in the sense that most change does require both action and money. While action is largely seen as common sense for something like creating change, the money situation is where becoming part of the solution can be impossible for some.

     While these articles did make me view wealthy people in a new way, it didn't necessarily change all my opinions. Wimsatt is basically telling us to look to these wealthy people as sources of funding and to take advantage of their capabilities. This is all well and good and I'd be overjoyed knowing wealthy people were contributing to just causes, but it still doesn't change the way they live their lives. This to me, is what separates the wealthy from the rest. I understand he's doing good by being generous with his money, but he still can't relate to my life and knowing that I'm going to have to work everyday for a long time in order to stay afloat. Without being able to personify the wealthy in this way (struggle) it's hard to relate. I don't blame them for being wealthy and I don't hold a grudge; I simply cannot relate to their lives and hope they realize that they can't truly relate to not having money no matter how generous they are.