We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Rich People Love Their Dogs—Especially Their Military-Grade, K-9 Guard Dogs

Click here to access article by Jamie Johnson from Vanity Fair.

Frequently on Saturdays I like to pay a visit into the lives of the ruling class. After all, they are people, too. Because they have such a great influence on how we live, we need to understand them. Jamie Johnson is of that class and I think he is the perfect guide.

Of course, other people love their dogs and other pets, too. But Jamie's view is that the rich have an even more special attachment to their dogs which, in his view, is likely to interfere with the dogs' abilities to guard them and their property.
Prosperous families already shell out millions each year on other prized animals, notably horses, which can cost the kind of money that only billionaires throw around. I’ve said it many times before in this blog, but I believe the point bears repeating—rich people are notoriously bad with intimacy, and the relationship they can form with a pet is often the most affectionate bond they ever know. For the patrician class, referring to dogs as “man’s best friend” is no exaggeration. (I’ll say it: dogs aren’t just their best friends—they’re often their only real friends.) 
If you agree with my view that people who rise to the top in the sociopathic system of capitalism are likely to be sociopaths, then it is understandable that they find it difficult to relate to people. You see, they tend to believe in the gospel of capitalism that "there is no such thing as society, there are individual men and women, and there are families."