I haven’t known many wealthy people in my life. But I have known a few and let me tell ya. They are different than you and I. Well, me for sure. The wealthy people that I know have, as the song goes “Got their mind on their money and their money on their mind.” Believe it. Pretty much everything was about money to them. Everything was thought in terms of how much money could one make off of something that they did or were going to do. Listening to them I realized that in their world making a lot of money was something to be revered on the level of finding a cure for cancer. But any problem that they had, which were few, could usually be solved by their money. They did not work and they ate good food all the time. So while reading The Great Gatsby I’m torn. On one hand I get Jay Gatsby. If I fell in love with some super rich girl and wanted her and her lifestyle I can understand doing anything to get it, even consorting with serious gangsters. On the other hand I’m with Nick Carroway, who yes, has the advantage of having money, but can also see the shallowness of the rich and understands that they live lives of ridiculous privilege. I think about all of this when I plow through bills, receipts and credit card offers. Now that we in America, according David Stockman Ronald Regan’s budget director, have the largest economic inequality gap in history. The Great Gatsby is more relevant than it’s been in decades. Read it while your five dollar latte cools.
Tags: Classics, Literary Fiction, Murder, New York City, Todd's Picks
