It's Not A Sin To Be Rich

Note: All images are from https://unsplash.com/photos/2rhz3Nuq12c

There's a trend lately that's beginning to worry me. In the days of my parents, people were either respected for their moral values or disregarded for their lack of it and I like to think life was better. Somewhere along the way, the place of moral was gradually been taken over by wealth and affluence. In such a system, the rich were glorified and everybody aspired to be part of that club. Over time, the desire to accumulate wealth( which is now the most used indicator of success) has become a default. It's a basically the driving force behind almost everything we are taught to do, even from birth to adulthood.

Over time, government policies across the world has supposedly been geared at helping close the gap between the poor and the rich, but it has result in a widening of that gap. The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer, and quite on the back of the poor. This has led to increasingly disconnect and discontent between the poor and the rich. This discontent is increasingly been expressed today as compared to some years again.

Quite a number of incidents have got me thinking about this stuff recently. Take the issue of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's wife Ashkata Murty. The innocent (at least on this matter) woman took advantage of a tax scheme that had been in place for a long time and that has been used by hundreds and hundreds of wealthy British citizens without any hassle or problem, but somehow she was wrong for doing same. It's not like she did anything illegal, it was all legal. Now, she's been crucified on moral grounds. The popular opinion is that at a time where more people are been taxed more in the UK, it was wrong for a billionaire to be taking some sort of a tax holiday. That's the narrative been pushed, but the real underlying problem here is the poor trying to show their growing discontent at the rich and the privilege they get, legitimately if I may add.

Another example is that of Nigerian Musician Davido. He's one of the most talented and hardworking musician in Nigeria and Africa at large. He's got a good number of songs, albums and collaboration to his name. Despite been son to one of the richest men in Nigeria, he still had to build himself from the ground up just like every other musician, but a lot of Nigerians like to disagree. Some Nigerians, quite a lot of them have refused to acknowledge the talent of this prodigy, not because they do not see it, but because they believe he hasn't and has never earned any of the accolades he has. They judge him through a lens coloured by his father's wealth and hence they believe he's got everything easy.

Another example is DJ Cuppy. This is a female Nigerian DJ, who has paid her dues to earn her place in Nigeria music and entertainment industry. But the majority like to think of her as not deserving of her place, claiming that she's been pushed with her father's wealth. This couldn't be more false. Whether we chose to accept it or not, she has worked her a*s off to be where she is today.

An objective look at this three examples will show you that we seem to judge those that are wealthy by a different and harsher standards. For the poor and middle class we ask if it's legal, but when it's a billionaire, we try legal and the we ask moral. When it's the poor and middle class, they've earned it by hardwork, but when it's the rich, they have done nothing but ridden on the back of their wealth.

Conclusion

This is really unfair. We should not punish people or discriminate against them just because they are wealthy. We should not use a higher and biased measure when judging their actions. What's good for the goose should be good for the gander. Life's simple enough, let's not complicate it more than it should be. It's not a sin to be rich.

Thanks a lot for making out time to read my articles. I appreciate you guys.