5
OPINION

Thursday, June 29, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

C

urrently, it seems that
the tumultuous political
environment of America

will never calm, and the news
of Mark Zuckerberg awkwardly
testing the waters of the potential
presidential arena only adds
to the absurdity of our present
democratic state.

Zuckerberg, a thirty-three-

year-old computer programmer
who has a net worth greater than
the GDP of Luxembourg, is yet
another example of the growing
belief that billionaires are able
to solve America’s problems by
entering into politics and policy
creation. Due to their massive
financial success, we as the poor
citizens we are should willingly
allow for the transformation
of our democratic system into
an oligarchy full of benevolent
billionaires who so generously
bless us with their intelligence
and talent.

This
trend
in
American

culture is the culmination of
several factors all stemming
from specific attributes and
common
desires
we
as
a

collective citizenry share. This
trend was detailed excellently on
a recent episode of the podcast
“Politically
Reactive,”
where

writer Naomi Klein explained
how several of the solutions to
the growing wealth and income
inequality in America relied
on the generosity of the rich, or
“philanthro-capitalism.”
She

argued
that
throughout
the

1980s into present day, growing
materialism and the idea that
wealth
is
synonymous
with

success led to this reliance and
idolization of the mega-rich
within America. And despite
this phenomenon occurring and
growing for years, its fruitions
have
only
become
blatantly

visible recently with the election
of famous rich person, Donald
Trump.

Trump,
throughout
the

entirety of his celebrity life, has
been selling a “brand” — and the
Trump brand is all about money,
power, success and happiness
achieved
essentially
through

material wealth. From his name
plastered in gold on the side of
every building he owns, to the
fact that he is rarely ever seen in
something other than a suit — the
man sold the idea that his massive
financial wealth was more than
enough evidence that he could fix
America’s political problems.

His
election
demonstrated

that many Americans believe
success
within
the
private

sector can translate to victories
within America’s complicated
and massive public bureaucracy.
That by enabling these wealthy
geniuses, we can allow them to
transform and fix our country
the same way they did to their
company, brand or social media
site.

As Klein stated in an interview

with The New York Times,
“rather than trying to solve these
huge global problems through
institutions with some kind of
democracy
and
transparency

baked into them, we’re just going
to outsource it to benevolent
billionaires.”
From
the

billionaires who own charitable

foundations
to
unregulated

political contributions — the
mega-rich have been entrusted to
serve our best interests crafting
policy and changing the political
landscape. And most of these
actions go unnoticed by the public,
mostly through the privately-
run
charitable
organizations

which are controlled by only a
few individuals whose policies,
viewpoints
and
politics
are

often unknown to those outside
these groups. The Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation alone
determines many policies for
public education in America, free
from citizen input and comment.

And what this trend is doing

is undermining our American
democracy. Essentially, we are
creating
a
pseudo-oligarchy

in which money and material
wealth dictate public policy in
America. We do so willingly with
the current political campaign
finance laws, the allowance of
massive lobbying firms to draft
laws and the ongoing idolization
of the super-rich. Our democracy
is
meant
to
function
with

public input and participation
on all levels, in which our

statesmen
and
women
are

empathetic citizens representing
constituents
they
truly

understand. Willingly sacrificing
our political input and interest
to a handful of billionaires who
we have come to believe are
more intelligent, empathetic and
qualified
than
contemporary

political operatives undermines
the communal political actions
that are central to American
democracy.

This obsession and idolization

of the wealthy has begun to
seriously jeopardize the overall
strength of our democracy. The
solution to the level of growing
inequality is not the gracious
donations of billionaires who
take time to step away from their
business and into the positions
of public office. Historically,
America has been plagued before
by gross levels of inequality in
which wealthy families wielded
massive control over the politics
of the time. The Rockefellers,
Vanderbilts and Morgans of the
past shaped political and public
policy to bend toward their
interests. From atop their golden
estates, they were thought to
grace the working public with
their
immense
knowledge

and wealth during a time in
which inequality had reached a
historical high.

And now, the robber barons

of the past have been replaced
by the tech and finance titans of
the present. Gates, Zuckerberg,
Bezos or Trump — regardless,
their
wealth
has
somehow

justified the assurance that they
can change America, they can fix
its problems.

Billionaires and the super

wealthy are obviously intelligent
and
their
accomplishments

impressive.
Whether
they

created
luxury
hybrid
cars,

built
massive
fortunes
in

investments or decided whether
Joan Rivers or Dennis Rodman
would make a better “celebrity
apprentice” for a hypothetical
company that will never exist —
billionaires’ accomplishments are
complemented by their immense
wealth. Yet that wealth should not
serve as an automatic guarantee
that they understand and can
solve the complex political issues
facing the country.

—Michael Mordarski can be

reached at mmordars@umich.edu.

Benevolent billionaires

W

ith the campus population
so much sparser in the
summer, it’s easy to spot

differences among passing crowds. For
the past few weeks, a certain species
could not go unnoticed walking the
Diag and roaming State Street.

They travel in packs, wearing bulky

lanyards around their necks and
excessive University of Michigan gear
fresh out of their swinging M Den
bags. They make me chuckle, because
just one year ago, I was one of them:
unsure of my whereabouts, excited and,
ironically, disoriented — an orientation
kid.

Now, it’s hard to believe that I

had once been so unfamiliar with
this university. Exactly one year ago,
trekking from the holy East Quad
with eyes glued to Google Maps, I
was worn out by high school, nervous
and uncertain about my future. I was
lost, both literally and figuratively,
and entirely unaware of who I was to
become.

Yet, as I watch their confusion and

excitement, I can practically relive
the freshness of orientation, almost
longing to be on that momentous brink
of change again. While the details are
fuzzy, my memories of orientation
stand out collectively as a distinct feeling
of novelty, marked by an independence
that I couldn’t yet comprehend.

Coming from a reserved suburban

household, a number of things shocked
me those two days. Having been told
that I would never escape my “high
school circle” in college, I was amazed
by the amount of unfamiliar faces
and even more so by the expectation
of befriending them. Just a few days
after graduation, I wasn’t ready to leave
behind petty notions of high school
cliques and the social taboo of simply
approaching someone outside of my
own social group.

In essence, I couldn’t imagine ever

being confident or comfortable enough
to reach out to others my own age, much
less be surrounded by them day and
night for the next four years. As a result,
my social interaction at orientation was
restricted to a grand total of one friend
— a high school classmate, of course.
But while I still regret not branching out
earlier, it didn’t stop me from having fun
for those two days.

The orientation high I’ll always be

able to remember is the sheer taste of
freedom — that I perhaps now take
for granted. Having been accustomed
to strict parents for the first 18 years of
my life, I couldn’t fathom the ease with
which I could roam about campus, stay
up until 2 a.m. or spend money without
consequence.

But as I attended informational

lectures and scheduled my very first
classes, I felt the same fear we all did:
was I ready for college classes? Would
I even find them? What will I have
advanced in my career a year from now,
next summer?

Remembering this, I couldn’t help

but smile — out of amusement, because
I recall so clearly that anxiety that had
plagued me exactly 12 months ago, but
also out of appreciation, because I never
would’ve pictured myself as the person
I am today.

We are told not to live in the past,

but growth cannot be measured in the
absence of reflection.

Following that eventful orientation,

my first year of college was, as it is for all
of us, marked by countless milestones,
or “firsts”: first stranger to become a
best friend, first independent decision,
first all-night study session, first full-
time job — the list goes on and on.

Over time, my firsts turned into

standards and my naïve freshman self
grew into an individual. Though the
point at which I crossed into adulthood
is difficult to define, the difference in
my maturity is distinct. A year ago,
I would have hardly believed that I
could converse readily with strangers
or even stray far enough from home
that I would encounter one. I would’ve
dismissed the reality of financial
independence, and I was terrified of an
impending career that I’ve learned only
hard work can pay for.

But somewhere along the line, I

proved myself wrong. With uncertainty
and challenge, I have grown into a
better version of myself — defined not
by my high school, my family nor my
former reservations but rather by my
own ideas and actions that are given so
much room for growth at this school.
Looking back, I can attest to the rumors:
change is good, and I’m proud of it.

So, for those of you who are long

past your orientation days, I urge you
to pop that dusty lanyard back on for
one last throwback. A simple self-
reflection cannot be underestimated;
recognizing personal growth only
creates increased cause to advance.
We will only keep growing.

For those of you who have yet to

taste the freshman experience, don’t
toss that lanyard off just yet. You’ll
want to remember what it feels like
around your neck; a year from now,
you might feel completely different.

And I promise you, you don’t want

to forget it.

— Angela Chen can be reached

at angchen@umich.edu.

ANGELA CHEN| COLUMN
MICHAEL MORDARSKI| COLUMN

Throwback Thursday

Trump, throughout

the entirety of
his celebrity life,
has been selling a

“brand”