By Patrick Hardeman – In and Out of Darkness

Every country has a system.

This one just happens to come with excellent marketing.

We call it the American Dream. Sometimes it feels more like the American treadmill. You know, the one where you’re running as fast as you can while someone else is adjusting the speed.

Here’s the unofficial flow chart:

A poor man works nonstop.

A rich man profits from that labor.

A soldier protects them both.

The taxpayer pays for all three.

The banker collects from all four.

The lawyer argues for all five.

The doctor sends the bill to all six.

The criminal scares all seven.

Then the politicians step onto the stage, shake everyone’s hand, promise to fix the mess, and somehow manage to live like kings and queens from the labor of all eight.

And here’s the punchline.

The poorest among us somehow end up funding all of the above.

Through their labor.

Through their taxes.

Through their purchases.

Through their sacrifices.

Yet they’re often the very people society looks down upon.

Now before someone rushes to the comments to tell me their cousin’s best friend’s dentist is an amazing human being, relax.

There are honorable bankers.

There are ethical lawyers.

There are compassionate doctors.

There are some politicians that might believe what they say.

There are wealthy people who earned every penny they have.

This isn’t about every individual.

It’s about a system whose incentives often seem completely upside down.

Here’s another uncomfortable truth.

Most of us have been trained to fear the wrong people.

We clutch our wallets when we see the rough-looking person on the corner. We lock our doors because someone is different. We cross the street because a person looks intimidating.

Yet history tells a far different story.

Some of the greatest thefts weren’t committed with a pen.

Some of the worst lies weren’t told in an alley.

They are delivered from podiums.

Some of the greatest acts of exploitation didn’t happen behind a dumpster.

They happened inside boardrooms.

Some of the most devastating crimes in history weren’t carried out by people wearing ski masks.

They were authorized by people wearing tailored suits, polished shoes, judicial robes, military medals, white lab coats, and elected titles.

Respectability is not the same thing as integrity.

A title doesn’t create character.

A degree doesn’t produce wisdom.

A clean haircut doesn’t guarantee a clean conscience.

History has repeatedly shown us that evil often learns to wear a nice suit or dress.

Maybe that’s why so many people spend their lives fearing those who’ve never wished them harm while blindly trusting those who have the power to cowardly destroy entire communities with the stroke of a pen.

Perhaps we’ve confused appearance with virtue.

If you can convince people to judge clothing instead of character, they’ll never notice who’s actually picking their pockets.

Now let’s return to the people at the bottom of our little circle.

The custodians.

The warehouse workers.

The drivers.

The farmers.

The mechanics.

The wait staff.

The construction workers.

The caregivers.

The sanitation crews.

The cashiers.

These aren’t glamours jobs.

They’re just necessary jobs.

Remove enough billionaires for a week and Wall Street gets nervous.

Remove enough garbage collectors for a week an civilization starts smelling like spoiled milk in July.

Funny how that works.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve convinced ourselves that a person’s paycheck determines their value.

It doesn’t.

Income measures what someone is paid, and available options.

Character measures who they are.

Those are two completely different conversations.

Every skyscraper begins with someone pouring concrete.

Every corporation depends on someone stocking shelves, cleaning buildings, loading trucks, repairing equipment, answering phones, or working the overnight shift while everyone else sleeps.

Yet those same workers are often mocked for “not trying hard enough.”

That’s like making fun of the foundation while proudly living on the twentieth floor.

Here’s the greatest irony of all.

So many claim they don’t want poor people.

Nobody wants to be poor.

Yet everyone depends on someone accepting the very jobs society refuses to appreciate.

Without them, restaurants don’t open.

Hospitals don’t function.

Packages don’t arrive.

Roads don’t get repaired.

Food doesn’t reach the grocery store.

The lights don’t stay on.

The country doesn’t keep moving.

Maybe success is remembering who held the ladder while you climbed.

A healthy society doesn’t require everyone to earn the same income.

It does require everyone to receive the same basic dignity.

Because every civilization eventually learns the same lesson.

Ignore the foundation long enough…

and one day the entire building reminds you why it mattered.

Until then, the American Circle Jerk keeps spinning.

Round and round we go. Cheering titles.

Mocking labor.

Fearing appearances.

Trusting images.

All while forgetting that the very people carrying the greatest weight are often the ones receiving the least respect.

As many prepare to celebrate Independence Day, here’s a question I’d like to leave with you:

If the people holding up the foundation of this country disappeared for just one week, who would you miss first; and why are they so often the last to receive our respect?

Happy Independence Day. May we continue striving for a nation where dignity isn’t determined by a title, a paycheck, or a zip code, but by the character we choose to live by.

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