Do the Poor Remain Poor?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez famously took to the House floor last week to quibble over the origins of the old maxim about “pulling oneself up by the bootstraps.”  “You know this idea, this metaphor of a bootstrap started off as a joke,” she said.  “Because it’s physically impossible to lift yourself up by a bootstrap, by your shoelaces.  It’s physically impossible!”

She obviously believes this to be some sort of profound observation, but perhaps someone could have taken the time to explain to her that the difficulty of the physical act is kind of the point of the metaphor.  According to Writing Explained, the “expression originated in the 1800s,” and “refers to the ability of a person to lift himself or herself up by pulling on the laces of his or her boots.  Of course, this is impossible, so in order to do it would take very hard work.” [emphasis added]

It’s always a lot of fun when Sandy O makes a ditzy spectacle of herself, though, this time attempting to literally dissect and discredit a traditional metaphor that promotes hard work, persistence, and the obvious individual empowerment that comes with both of those virtues.  Nonetheless, her message was heard loud and clear — poor Americans shouldn’t be expected to be able to care for themselves, no matter how hard they work or struggle to succeed, because the free market and the wealthy class have stacked the deck against them.  That’s why we need the federal government to step in and forcibly equalize economic outcomes for everyone, as she and her radical socialist cohorts routinely demand.

 

Liberal Soup N Crackers®

Article URL : https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/02/do_the_poor_remain_poor.html