All my life I have been stuck between two worlds. As a youth, I didn’t fit in with the in-crowd, but I didn’t fit in with the out-crowd either

When I went deaf, I distinctly chose not to be part of the Deaf Culture, but instead, be a deaf man in the hearing world.

When I started earning a sizable income from my career, I chose to stay attuned with working-class folks. My dad was a milkman living literally from paycheck to paycheck, and often times failing at even that. With my income, I could have lived more lavishly, but I chose to save for a “rainy day” instead. My rainy day is here now, and I am still wondering if I made the right choice.

After my wife died from her 4th heart attack, I chose to stay in the CCRC retirement community where she spent her final days. Here again, I am between two worlds. I would say that 70% of the people here depend on scooters, walkers, or other means of mobilization whereas I am still cardio walking two miles a day, at least in fair weather. For the most part, I am considered the youngster here. Stuck between two worlds

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Finally, let’s get to the point in the title of this post.

“American Aristocracy” Vs “Adversity Builds Character”

Even after all these years, I still have a blue-collar mentality. I just don’t think much of those who were fed everything in life with a silver spoon. I know it’s not their fault that they were given everything they ever wanted. I look at them as much less than those who overcame serious adversities.

Plainly speaking, any form of aristocracy just turns me off. For so few to have so much power over so many is a dreadful thing to me. I have come to love many things British, but if it were up to me (which of course it isn’t) I would end the royal lines of monarchy with Queen Elizabeth.

I see the same thing in the U.S. with the American Aristocracy that is, the 1% who control the majority of the countries’ wealth. When I was born, the U.S. inheritance tax was about 80% for the very wealthy. Now it is down around 20%.

Of course, most of our world history has been when aristocracy ruled the world. In spite of what some may think, we have made some serious advances in eliminating adversity during my lifetime. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and the changes that have resulted are certainly to be celebrated, but they were not the only ones. If I had been born twenty years earlier, I would likely have ended up in a mental asylum because I think and see the world differently than most. That and the fact that I would also have been considered “deaf and dumb”. Those two strikes would have assured that I was forcibly removed from mainstream society. Many challenges still lie ahead for those of us who have lived lives of adversity, but…