Hubris & Bullshit

I made it on my own.

The mere idea that any person could independently become successful – without help, good fortune, and a heaping measure of luck – is a delusion.

Even ignoring the fact that a large percentage of rich people are rich because of inheritance, most people require more than “hard work and know-how” to become successful. I daresay that Oprah isn’t simply the best talk show host ever in the whole wide world, but rather that she met the right people, made some good connections, and was given the right opportunities to be where she is today. And she’s hard-working and a decent talk show host to boot.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why rich people want to believe that they got where they are all on their own. Wouldn’t it be nice to believe you could be dropped anywhere and the outcome would be the same – total domination?

I spoke to a delusional man tonight who believed just that. He’s – by his own description – at the top of his field (engineering/construction). He claimed that he could be homeless, without credentials, resources, references, or a decent outfit and still end up well-off within a year.

Well that gives me an idea.

“Bootstraps” #

And so I propose to you – my tens of readers – a kind of social experiment. It’s been done before, but never like this. What I’d like to do is propose a new reality TV show “Bootstraps” (title negotiable).

There would be a casting call for well-off Republicans. Contestants would film plenty of b-roll rants about “resources”, “shelters”, and (of course) “bootstraps”. All the finalists would sign wavers. Then, in the middle of the night, the show producers would have them taken from their warm upper-class beds, stripped of their belongings, id’s, and nice clothes. They would be doused in liquor and dumped in a foreign city, with no contacts, no money, and no advantages.

First one to run a company wins. Time to show & prove my friends.