We Have A Choice

I am reading Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court.  Our hero in this tale is a time traveler, not by choice but rather by accident.  He is a rough and tumble American lad who enjoys a good fight now and then until he is knocked unconscious by a big mule of a man and wakes up in the year of our Lord 528 in Britain.

I have read other works by Twain years ago and only remembered his stories as amusing.  I had forgotten that he was not only a humorist but also a political activist.  Yes, I am enjoying the delightful tale of life in the sixth century but I am also intrigued by this man's political views.  Keep in mind that Mark Twain was born in the year 1889 so his political views are different from ours yet still not so different.

Mark Twain writes his story during a time of servitude in Britain where there were two classes of people, the very rich and the very, very poor.  The rich lived off the food and services provided by the poor.  The poor survived  (just barely) off the dirges the rich did not consume.

I can't help but notice some similarities to modern day U.S.A.  We have three classes here.  The very rich, middle class and poverty.  However, we have one very big difference.  The poor in Twain's tale had no choice.  They either lived to serve the rich or they died.  That simple.  We have a choice.

So why are there so many poor people here in this great country?  Partly because there is so much greed by the rich but could there be another reason.? 

Fear?  Fear of change? 

Risk?  Fear of risk? 

I don't know the answer but I think this country is still the best place to be in 2012. 

Twain's hero refuses to sit around on his rump and watch the rich enjoy their spoils although he has the opportunity to do just that.  Instead he takes his knowledge gained from living in America during the early nineteenth century to improve the lot of the impoverished Brits.

We have choices to make everyday.  We can choose to ignore them and sit on our rumps and let whatever follow by doing nothing or we can make a choice.  I choose to make my own decision. 

How about you?