Forbes.com:
Most people think of bigotry only in terms of race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. But at its core, bigotry simply is intolerance – which all too often leads to singling people out for attack based upon their group identity.
Think for a moment about the small business entrepreneur just starting out in his basement, mortgaged to the hilt, wondering if he will make it. Everyone loves these heroes when they are struggling to survive. But when they rise from the basement and make it all the way to the penthouse, these heroes suddenly are “not paying their fair share.” Today, it is open season on them.
As the spending-driven debt crisis grows in America and among the 50 states, we would not accept such vilification toward the poor and elderly who consume taxpayer resources. We certainly would not accept such vilification toward the working class or minorities. So why do we tolerate the vilification of those most successful in America?
According to the IRS, the top 1 percent of earners take home 17 percent of the nation’s total taxable income. Yet they pay 37 percent of the nation’s taxes. They are paying a disproportionate share of the burden of government and yet the Occupy protestors, public employee unions and even President Obama demonize them.
Think about who the 1 percent are. They are entrepreneurs who have pursued life, liberty and happiness. For many, pursuit of a dream is the root source of their wealth. They risked some of their own money and perhaps recruited investors to put in some of theirs. They hired workers to join them in making this dream a reality. Some of those workers became 1 percenters, too.
And how do these dreams come true? By operating businesses that succeed by serving others well. That is the essence of the free market and capitalism. Despite all its flaws, despite the risks, despite the many challenges, success is achieved by serving others well. This should be championed, not vilified. It’s surreal we must be reminded of this.
For most entrepreneurs and business people who become part of the 1 percent, it takes years of hard work, massive sacrifice and perpetual resilience. It is not easy; many who attempt business success never make it, and live lives of quiet disappointment at the dream never realized.
This bigotry against those who do succeed must stop. We must all champion the entrepreneurs and those who work with them. We must champion them in the basement; we must champion them when they are rising. And most of all, we must champion them when they make it to the penthouse and become part of the 1 percent.
American society has worked hard to eliminate bigotry like this toward other groups. We should not tolerate it against the 1 percent either. You can you make a difference in this fight. Most bigotry is minimized and even eradicated when people like you stop tolerating it.
In the 1980s, racial jokes in work and social life were still quite normal. Maybe they still are in parts of American culture but I don’t hear them anymore. One reason is that in the 1980s, I made a conscious decision to no longer accept such prejudice in my life. Whenever someone would begin a joke that was clearly heading toward a racially focused end, I would stop them and say, “Please, I’m not interested in hearing that joke.”
It was very uncomfortable at first. But I did it because this was a small thing that could help create a better culture.
Today, those jokes largely have become socially unacceptable. That cultural change happened because thousands and then millions of Americans independently, quietly and firmly stopped tolerating the bigotry. And yet, here we are today with a new form of bigotry that is openly encouraged by people who should know better.
So I suggest we start saying, “I’m not interested in hearing that. Please, no bigotry toward those who are successful in pursuing the American Dream.”
John Tillman is CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, a free market think tank based in Chicago. Before joining the world of public policy, Tillman was an entrepreneur.
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