I have spoken with Americans from five different states this past week and have learned one thing; many people, too many people, are suffering. Most aren’t desperate yet and will endure the economic fratricide that’s being inflicted on us all from Washington with silent determination. But it’s clear that we are approaching a cliff where Main Street America may see greater economic hardship than what most people have lived through since the 1930s. Yes, it could get that bad.
I generally temper my own public statements with what I believe are facts. Sometimes this provides for a more moderate tone to Averagist stories. As much as possible, I rely on positive narratives that are inspiring to most. But the reality I hear from people in rural areas and small towns is so different from what I read in mainstream media outlets and hear coming out of the mouths of politicians, I simply cannot stomach downplaying what people are going through.
I have known this for some time but have largely self-censored for fear of appearing political. I have tried to not pick a side, but the truth is, I did just that when I started the American Averagist. It wasn’t a choice of right versus left, Democrat versus Republican, or woke versus “unwoke”. No, I chose the third side; the unseen American versus the establishment elites who believe their opinions are the only ones that matter. In other words, I chose the forgotten man.
But who is the forgotten man? In 1876, William Graham Sumner described him using a mathematical formula that is still relevant today:
“As soon as A observes something which seems to him to be wrong, from which X is suffering, A talks it over with B, and A and B then propose to get a law passed to remedy the evil and help X. Their law always proposes to determine what A, B, and C shall do for X. But what about C? There was nothing wrong with A and B helping X. What was wrong was the law [itself], and the indenturing of C to the cause. C is the forgotten man.”
A and B are elites. They are generally wealthy, or at least want to appear to be. They send their kids to the most expensive colleges, and spend their lives in government, academia, or progressive industries. They eat foie gras, and spend money on ridiculous things, consuming conspicuously. They drop names of other elites at dinner parties and can’t understand why every American isn’t driving a $70,000 electric car. They are insulated from the economic turmoil their policies and beliefs inflict on others, and when confronted by those people, they turn their noses up, and through euphemistic obfuscation, tell them they are ignorant, deplorable, and uneducated. They are anti-averagists and proud of it. If you want to read their stories, pick up any newspaper, watch any cable news broadcast, or just take in a Disney movie.
Averagist stories describe the life of C, the unseen person; the overlooked Americans who get out of bed every day, work, support their families, give to their communities, and do the hard things that keep a society functioning. Averagist stories and books are ultimately intended to give the average man or woman a voice, a face, so others might recognize them if they ever take the time to stop and consider the people who make their lives possible. That’s the mission of the American Averagist. I hope you will join the movement and become part of the Averagist nation.
I have spoken with Americans from five different states this past week and have learned one thing; many people, too many people, are suffering. Most aren’t desperate yet and will endure the economic fratricide that’s being inflicted on us all from Washington with silent determination. But it’s clear that we are approaching a cliff where Main Street America may see greater economic hardship than what most people have lived through since the 1930s. Yes, it could get that bad.
I generally temper my own public statements with what I believe are facts. Sometimes this provides for a more moderate tone to Averagist stories. As much as possible, I rely on positive narratives that are inspiring to most. But the reality I hear from people in rural areas and small towns is so different from what I read in mainstream media outlets and hear coming out of the mouths of politicians, I simply cannot stomach downplaying what people are going through.
I have known this for some time but have largely self-censored for fear of appearing political. I have tried to not pick a side, but the truth is, I did just that when I started the American Averagist. It wasn’t a choice of right versus left, Democrat versus Republican, or woke versus “unwoke”. No, I chose the third side; the unseen American versus the establishment elites who believe their opinions are the only ones that matter. In other words, I chose the forgotten man.
But who is the forgotten man? In 1876, William Graham Sumner described him using a mathematical formula that is still relevant today:
A and B are elites. They are generally wealthy, or at least want to appear to be. They send their kids to the most expensive colleges, and spend their lives in government, academia, or progressive industries. They eat foie gras, and spend money on ridiculous things, consuming conspicuously. They drop names of other elites at dinner parties and can’t understand why every American isn’t driving a $70,000 electric car. They are insulated from the economic turmoil their policies and beliefs inflict on others, and when confronted by those people, they turn their noses up, and through euphemistic obfuscation, tell them they are ignorant, deplorable, and uneducated. They are anti-averagists and proud of it. If you want to read their stories, pick up any newspaper, watch any cable news broadcast, or just take in a Disney movie.
Averagist stories describe the life of C, the unseen person; the overlooked Americans who get out of bed every day, work, support their families, give to their communities, and do the hard things that keep a society functioning. Averagist stories and books are ultimately intended to give the average man or woman a voice, a face, so others might recognize them if they ever take the time to stop and consider the people who make their lives possible. That’s the mission of the American Averagist. I hope you will join the movement and become part of the Averagist nation.