Change in Sympathies

by Brent Olson

Independently Speaking

Publication Date 8/19/99

Okay, you're going to have to stay with me on this one. I'm going to
wander a bit, but trust me; it's all going to make sense in the end.

Sometimes it's important to have all the facts before you form an
opinion. This was driven home to me last week at our county fair. A young woman of my acquaintance was standing alone near where I was working.

"So," I said to her, "How are you?"

"Not so good," she said. "I'm a little sick to my stomach."

"I'm sorry," I said, my daddy instincts kicking in immediately. "Is
there anything I can do?"

"I don't think so," she said. "I was riding on the Tilt-a-Whirl."

My sympathy level dropped off considerably.

"Yeah," she said thoughtfully. "I got six free ride tickets. I probably
shouldn't have used them all."

My sympathy level dropped off the edge of a very sharp cliff. After all,
she's a nice girl and I'm fond of her, but with the complete facts on hand, I didn't feel
nearly as sympathetic about her upset tummy.

A day after the end of the fair, I helped moved stacks of books from our
old library to the new one. In exchange for the manual labor, the librarian let me paw through the pile that was going to be discarded because no one had ever checked them out. I went home with a terrific two-volume history of the United States. I didn't actually learn much in high school and I've been trying to remedy that ever since. For the past week I've been working my way through the chapters on the Great Depression. I'm learning all kinds of stuff that I didn't know. In some ways, it all seems a bit familiar. One percent of the population owned 59% of the wealth. Wages were incredibly low, between five and ten cents an hour for many jobs. Yet, a member of the DuPont family refused to sponsor a radio program scheduled for Sunday afternoons because, he said, "No one would hear it. Three p.m. on Sunday everyone is out playing polo."

It's easy to make fun of the government, and I do, all the time. On the
other hand, it's important to remember that the ordinary people need some protection from the ruthless rich. That's part of the government's job and we've learned the hard way that it's needed. In the Thirties there wasn't any protection at all and the rich stomped so hard on us peasants that this country almost had a revolution.

So, here's my thought for the day. Lately, I've heard and read about
several people from the big companies discussing their need to compete freely and how the government is taking away the ability to operate their businesses as they wish. They say horrible things might happen if this continues.

It's important not to give credence to everything you hear. If our local
grocery store believed in barter, I'd have to take 140 pounds of corn to them to trade for one box of corn flakes. At the same time, most of the companies that buy my corn have been making record profits. It all reminds me of my young friend and her upset tummy.

And that leads me to one more thought. If big business has been getting
all the free rides, why are we the ones sick to our stomachs?

Copyright 1999 Brent Olson