Clarence Crawford, in his March 9 letter, seems enraptured with the term ‘’oligarch,” probably since the media started using the term in reference to the some of the wealthy Russians related to the invasion of Ukraine. Crawford wants to apply the term in the U.S., using it to enhance his rhetorical badmouthing of both Donald Trump and the wealthiest 1% of Americans.
The term comes from the Greek ‘’oligarkhia,” meaning “the rule of the few.” Wikipedia says oligarchies are governments in which a group of individuals rules over a nation, whose power is typically derived from their wealth. Is that really what we are? I thought we were a democracy, a form of government where the adult citizens to choose their leadership.
Instead of the term ‘’oligarch” let’s focus on the term we’re all familiar with: “wealthy.” If you’re not wealthy, you love to badmouth the wealthy. But do not forget, this country has always been based on the proposition that this is the land of opportunity, where anyone can with the right effort and some luck become one of the wealthy. There are thousands of success stories out there, of individuals who started out with nothing and were able to grow their wealth and eventually become part of the 1%.
Crawford is upset that “we won’t correct it.” Do we really want to?
— Jim Lieb
Palmer
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