Left or Right. Red or Blue: I Blame You!

I don’t blame liberals, conservatives, left, right, red, or blue. I blame you. Yeah, I said it. You waste time debating whether Elon Musk or Barack Obama used a Nazi salute or a terrorist fist bump, but the real enemies of civilization — not just democracy — run roughshod over this country and the world like the horsemen of the apocalypse. Greed, wrath, corruption, ignorance, famine, pestilence, and, of course, fear and cowardice. Once, there were four horsemen; now they are legion, and we’re falling before them like lawn chairs trampled by a stampede of multimillionaires and billionaires who measure their contempt for humanity in dollars and power.

Do you think Musk, Soros, Cook, Zuckerberg, Gates, Cuban, and their ilk care whether you attack or defend them? While you tear at each other like mangy tomcats in a pissed-up back alley, they sip champagne at glittering parties, relishing the chaos and insecurity they’ve sown to ensure the 99 percent stay divided and conquered.

Odds are, you’re part of that 99 percent. You might believe this doesn’t apply to you, but unless your net worth exceeds $6 million, welcome to the club. No amount of whiteness, maleness, ideological fervor, or a rally with the resistance will change that. You feel “comfortable,” but you’re sand slipping through the cracks between the one percent and the 99. The one percent counts on you as a buffer — a shield between their excess and the waking nightmare of those teetering on the edge of homelessness. These are the people with nothing left to lose, who will eventually rise up and sweep away everything you worked for because you failed to see that they are you.

Their financial insecurity is real: nearly 46% of American households carry credit card debt (Federal Reserve), their balances climbing as wages stagnate. Nearly half of all Americans lack any retirement savings (USAFacts), and among those aged 50 and above, 61% are deeply concerned about their financial future (AARP). The American Dream, the one you’re always blathering on about, is on life support. The average cost of rent is now $2,000 per month (Zillow), and for homeowners, the median mortgage payment is $2,167 (Mortgage Bankers Association). While you’re struggling to afford housing, 60% of U.S. households are weighed down by credit card debt, and 51% don’t even have $1,000 in emergency savings (LendingTree).

Let’s talk about family planning. A 2023 report by U.S. News & World Report indicates that even with insurance, the average pregnancy costs parents nearly $3,500 in out-of-pocket expenses. In 2023, the average annual cost of childcare nationwide was $11,582 per child, reflecting a 3.7% increase from the previous year (Pew Research Center & CNN). When you think of the cost of having a family, a few relevant hand gestures might align with your membership in the 99 percent club.

Still think you have a choice? Think again. The one percent has decided for you. Like Billy Flynn from the musical Chicago says, “Razzle dazzle ’em. Give ’em a show that’s so splendiferous. Row after row will grow vociferous.” While they dazzle you with spectacle, they keep you distracted and steal your future. Well, you’ve been vociferous about all the wrong things, my friend.

Billionaires have hijacked our spaces, our communities, and our government, and yet you think this is about left or right, red or blue. You either want to “own the libs” or “expose the fascists,” but you refuse to see the game for what it is. History tells us exactly how this story plays out. Hitler didn’t scapegoat Jews for ideological reasons; he did it because it was useful. His cronies, the financiers, the arms dealers — they amassed wealth while the world burned. The result? More than 50 million people died, and yet the real winners walked away richer, laughing at how easily the masses could be manipulated. We are playing the same game today, and you’re still falling for it.

What’s wrong with you? Don’t you see what the rest of the 99 percent is screaming at you? The workforce is stretched to the breaking point, burdened with debt, stagnant wages, and a social safety net in tatters. Almost 80% of Americans believe the country faces a retirement crisis (NIRS), and they are right. And yet, you cling to the fantasy that you are somehow different, that this is someone else’s problem. You are dangerously deluded if you don’t see yourself in this essay. If you do, your willful blindness to the real enemy will be your undoing.

So, as a data scientist, let me help you do the math: You are the 99 percent. And until you start acting like it, standing with those who have been pushed to the edge rather than sneering down at them, the one percent will keep winning.

Ignore this warning at your peril.

What You Must Do:

• Get Informed: Stop allowing yourself to be bamboozled, consuming propaganda that pits you against your fellow 99 percenters. Read credible sources, study economic inequality, and understand how wealth is hoarded.
• Organize and Mobilize: Join labor unions, community organizations, and advocacy groups that fight for economic justice and fair wages.
• Vote with Intention: Stop letting billionaires buy elections. Support candidates who advocate for you, the working people, not corporate interests.
• Support Small Businesses: Shift your spending away from monopolistic corporations that exploit workers and concentrate wealth at the top. Not every delivery needs to end with a smile on the box.
• Have Conversations: Talk to your neighbors, co-workers, and family. Don’t suspect them. Get to know them. More than 75% of Americans agree on the top challenges facing the U.S. today. Build community, not more fences.
• Demand Accountability: Pressure your representatives to address corruption, lobbyist influence, and dark money in elections. Getting elected shouldn’t cost billions of dollars. Start with your local and state elected officials, whose votes can’t be bought so dearly. Then get them to ensure laws are passed so federal elections don’t cost every body part you have on offer.

It’s you, not just me. We have a responsibility to stop being pawns in their game.