How may individuals be justly scorned or adorned for their abilities when such is not the product of their will or conscience but of random chance. We emerge from the womb of our mother a genius or ignoramus, a brute or benefactor, a nobleman or homelessman. Over that we have no control, and thus should receive neither acclaim nor blame for our future status in life. Whether a doctor or crack addict, each human being deserves unconditional empathy, for he could be us.
Recalled to mind is the 19th century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), who eloquently expressed a similar sentiment. “Inasmuch as every person’s life is tragic, and each experiences his special torment, he must not condemn another for evil actions, but pity him. We are all in the same boat caught where we do not wish to be, without much control over our wretched state; therefore it is unwise to condemn a neighbor, and we should show him compassion to help alleviate his condition. It is this compassion alone which is the real basis of all voluntary justice and all genuine love. When once compassion is stirred with me by another’s pain, then his weal and woe go straight to my heart, exactly in the same way, if not always to the same degree, as otherwise I feel only my own. Consequently the difference between me and him is no longer an absolute one.”
America often tends to equate material greatness with personal greatness, lauding individuals for their wealth. I contend that perhaps there is something honorable in a low income. That one may lack money due to a deficiency in the abilities necessary to obtain a high wage in the competitive labor market attaches material wealth to forces so transient that the attribute lacks any transcendent value, a cornerstone of anything worth pursuing, for the loser now will be later the win. Today’s admired successful craftsman may be tomorrow’s vagrant and casualty of the free market’s erratic and ever shifting winds. If forces so superficial captivated our aspirations, we would find ourselves perpetually muddled. Instead, we should commit ourselves to virtues with more permanence.
The ideal individual pursues activities in life for their naturally inherent virtue rather than their material rewards. Poets, artists, clerics, teachers, and philosophers follow this course. I would certainly consider their estate more honorable than that of the rich individual who generously sold his soul in pursuit of today’s market prized skills. On account of receiving a pitiful lot by chance or for discarding materialism and consequently enduring great suffering, the poor often deserve greater deference than the rich.