A Capitalist Manifesto for the American Middle Class
8th September 2022
I expect reliable and cheap energy. I expect that every time I flip on a switch, the lights will come on, and the heat will come up. I expect that I will be able to fill my car with gas pretty much whenever I want at any gas station that is open and that I can hit the open road for a road trip without breaking the bank.
I expect abundant, varied, and cheap food. I want to see the grocery stores stocked with fresh food and sundry items. I expect that when I go to the store to get broccoli that I will find it, as will millions of other Americans. I expect high-quality toilet paper on the shelves and that I can buy as many packages as I want.
I expect reliable services. I expect that when I need a plumber, or my carpets cleaned, or my roof repaired, I can find someone to come in a reasonable amount of time and that they will either have or will be able to easily obtain the parts they need.
I expect to be able to my own home, to feel the pride and joy of ownership, to decorate it and landscape it and modify it as I wish, without asking for permission, and to be able to use it as collateral to build a business or whatever other needs I may have.
I expect that through hard work, I will pay for all these things to ensure they are available to all.
I expect to be able to speak my mind in public without fear of who is listening. I expect to be able to declare my political ideology through tee shirts, hats, or bumper stickers without reprisals, whether on the street or a college campus.
I expect the schools to teach children the basic knowledge they need to be good citizens and to appreciate the country they have. I expect that when they graduate they are literate, understand math and science and know how our system of government works.
I expect to be able to walk within our cities and parks without stepping over homeless people, garbage, drug paraphernalia, and human waste. I expect to walk without fear in our cities and neighborhoods, and not to be assaulted on the streets or on public transportation.
I expect civil order, and that wholesale vandalism, property theft, and destruction will not be tolerated.
I expect to see statues of our Founding Fathers and other historical figures throughout America. These works were created to honor them and inspire us, and they do.
I expect that through responsible and moral conduct, I will contribute to a peaceful and prosperous society for all.
All these things I expect not out of a sense of entitlement, but because the majority of Americans had them in my lifetime. We know how to do this. I never took these things for granted. I was always filled with wondrous gratitude and admiration for the freedom, hard work, and ingenuity that led to our prosperity and all the men and women who worked every day to keep society running smoothly. Some of that hard work was my own, and I always tried to be a productive and responsible citizen by making the most of the opportunities afforded to me.
To our so-called elite: I am unapologetically grateful for my standard of living and under no circumstances do I want you to ruin it for me and millions of other Americans who either have or aspire to a similar standard. You may be bored with your lavish lifestyles, you may be suffering from fear, guilt, self-hatred, or confusion about what is a man and what is a woman, you may be living a life devoid of meaning, but I am not. You have not convinced me that destruction of our way of life is necessary for some greater goal. You have no right to lower my standard of living to make you feel good about yourselves. Lower your own. I love living in the middle class, I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity, and I will fight to keep it alive for me and future generations.
Concur.