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<div>"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."</div>
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<div>This is one of my favorite Bible quotes. I should clarify that I am an agnostic, regarding the existence of "God," but this does not mean that I negate all wisdom from the Bible. </div>
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<div>Recently discussion on Vision2020 has focused on rural vs. urban behavior patterns in Latah County, regarding propensities towards criminal behavior. No doubt the poor and uneducated (rural, in come cases, though urban populations in some areas are also uneducated and poor) do commit crimes in some categories at a higher rate than the rich and educated. </div>
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<div>But when considering this issue at large, I think the rich commit or are connected to committing far more "evil" than the poor. I am oversimplifying the subject, given that "rich and poor" are a complex continuum of economic, political and social variables. Some who are poor might be surprisingly educated while some who are rich are not so... But given the behavior of wealthy organized crime, the organized violence of the State, and the greed of multinational corporations focused primarily on their bottom line, on a global scale, the poor simply do not have the power or wealth, the means, to commit as much crime, as much "evil," as the rich. I could expand this thesis with historical references in abundance... But any Vision2020 reader could do this research.</div>
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<div>I think it wise to avoid trite aphorisms, if possible, but when appropriate, they make a valid point: "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." The poor simply do not have the power or wealth, again, I state, to be as evil as the rich, even if they wanted to...</div>
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<div>How many innocents have been killed or suffered due to the pursuit of the wealth and power of the educated (or not so) powerful rich? Does being educated and wealthy assure someone is not morally corrupt? Does the pursuit of wealth and power sometimes involve a compromise of moral principles, which in some cases means those who choose to not make certain moral compromises, do not attain wealth or power?</div>
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<div> Ted Moffett</div>
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