Shame on the poor and the rich alike.

In 1850 in Boston Theodore Parker utter words that Abraham Lincoln made famous at Gettysburg in 1863. The words? "The American idea.... a democracy-that is, a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people..."

Note: in this column when you read poor or rich it will only mean a very great many of them.

Of, by, and for all the people. It is the hard working average citizens that understand this form of democracy and over the last two hundred and fifty plus years most everyone understood what these words meant. America was a land of opportunity for all those who were willing to work for it. Unfortunately this common understanding has almost disappeared from the minds of a large portion of our population in both the new and native citizens. Oh, there are still a larger portion of citizens who understand these words, but as history has noted they are the Great Silent Majority.

So who is it that has skewed these words? I say it is the poor and the rich alike. Why? Let me briefly explain.

Through out the first two hundred years, in almost every poor family, you could hear the parents voices lecturing to their children, "You must get an education. Do you want to end up back in the ghetto like us? We work hard so you can get an education and get a good job to support your family! Make us proud of you! Remember money doesn’t grow on trees."

The poor were hardworking honest families in difficult situations and their primary goal was to give their children a decent chance to improve their situations.

Today, it seems the words are different. "You kids gotta be here Thursday, because the welfare lady is coming by to count heads. The more kids the more government money from welfare, food stamps and medicare. Also, she needs to see your ma and pa can’t take care of themselves, so we keep gettin’ our disability check and our Medicade. Also, we want ya’s all lookin’ for part time jobs after school and you older ones can even find day jobs, cause you ain’t makin’ us any money sittin’ in the school house. Remember the government gots lotsa money and we are entitled to our share!"

The poor today seem to be champions of government entitlements and preserving their way of life unto the next generation.

Through out the first two hundred years, in almost every rich family, you could hear the parents voices lecturing their children, "You must get an education, because one day you will be taking over the business and you will have great responsibilities to the company and to this great nation that has made this all possible. Our family has always given back our fair share, so this country can afford to stay strong and be the land of freedom and opportunity. Remember we citizens are the government, so we citizens pocketbooks are the government pocketbooks. Remember money doesn’t grow on trees."

The rich were the hardworking honest families who were very fortunate and wanted to produce children who would become statesmen in order to preserve our way of life. They were our heroes whether they were bankers, politicians, wall street tycoons, entertainers or athletes.

Today, it seems the words are different. "What are we going to do with you children? We send you to the best private schools, we endow colleges so they will give you a degree, we take millions out of our companies so you can have a place to stay in the city, the mountains, at the beach, in Europe and in the Islands. We have even set you up with trust funds in banks outside the USA to save you on taxes. We have kept you away from the rift raft of life, and yet you don’t appreciate what we have. You have to be smart enough to keep all we have. Remember the government has all the Great Silent Minority to tax for expenses. Your job is to keep all of what we have."

Today the rich are self serving individuals who have succumbed to the three great temptations of life - fame, power, and fortune. They no longer are our heroes whether they were bankers, politicians, wall street tycoons, entertainers or athletes.

Government of, by, and for all the people means just that for one hundred percent of the citizenry whether they are poor, rich, or part of the Great Silent Majority. It doesn’t say of, by, and for me! It says "The American idea.... a democracy-that is, a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people..."