Everything you speak of here Vi, is about the dollar. Money money money money.
Why do you think I treat you like shit? I hate your greed. the greed that has ruined America.
If only you could ever think of anything but the all mighty greenback
like so many others, you just don't get it. it's not about money at all. it's about choice and the freedom to be secure in the fruits of your labor. the ability to acquire personal wealth is what differentiates a free man from a slave. the money is nothing more than a representation of power, the power to mold your surroundings and determine you own destiny. wealth is neither good nor evil as long as it is attained by moral means and used to moral ends.
it's as easy to equate success with avarice as it is failure with indolence, but neither supposition is necessarily true. despite the histrionics of your previous post, you do bring up one valid point. individual rights are of utmost importance. what you seem to miss is that economic liberty is part and parcel of the entire concept of the power of the individual. the freedom to succeed or fail without interference is an integral part of determining one's own destiny and money is just one gauge of where you are on the scale of success. money and what it can buy are merely the most outward signs of how well you have managed your own destiny. other, more esoteric, signs may be seen in how you utilize that wealth, but the mere fact that your bank account is flush is no sign of moral decay.
And what exactly do you do to "bust you ass off"?
though i wasn't going to bother to respond to your little hissy fit, i've decided to answer this one question as an example of how we all consider success differently. the answer to your question is that i work with my hands, i always have and always will. i run a little one man show (remodeling and home repair) and strive to provide the best possible value for my customers. it's not going to make me rich, but it provides me with a comfortable living and allows me the sort of freedom that only working for yourself can give. while some may see it as a struggling existence, i consider it as a adequate sort of success. what i have i give freely to those around me, without thought of recompense or thanks, and i revel in my rather anarchistic lifestyle. though i don't own much besides my tools and my vehicles, neither am i indebted to the charity of others or the passing fancies of the state. i don't bother to whine over the inequities of life, i see little point in railing against the whims of fate and am perfectly willing to see that the blame for my failings rests firmly on my own shoulders. i will probably work until the day i die and manage to find some joy in it all. i will do so not because i must, but because i see a life without some use as a waste.
in short, i live this life as it suits me and see no sin in others who choose to do the same as long as they give some value for what they take. i may not have much, but neither do i begrudge others their own forms of success.