For most of human existence, people worked hard, grueling work to keep alive. Most were agrarian. It was really quite difficult to produce more calories than one burned off to produce those calories. It’s Adam’s curse.
Genesis 3:17 “To Adam He said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.”
Only in relatively recent times has man produced the technologies to allow much leisure. The people who actually produce the things we need (food, energy, etc) are so many times more productive than their forebears.
My point? People think they are owed a good life without working for it. Truth be told, even unproductive people lead very good lives compared to their ancestors. That’s thanks to the hard working productive people who are carrying the laggards. (Except the takers are no longer grateful for it).
As to your point that the system is stacked against people moving up, that has always been true throughout human history. However, America truly was and is still the land of opportunity—maybe not as good as it once was but still better than most cultures. I hope Americans wake up before we lose that.
Yes. Maybe the land of opportunity -- but at what cost, and is opportunity actually the correct measuring stick? And, more importantly, is that opportunity that we built over a few hundred years on the decline -- like about every other civilization on the earth that has preceded us?
After all, we can put a man on the moon, split the atom, and find the Higgs Boson, but where have the advances come for the bulk of our American citizens in their happiness and interactions with one another? Hardly any. In fact, it seems to be in reverse. My grandkids, with all this abundance and opportunity, will likely not reach the pinnacle of achievement like most (not all) generations coming before them.
Our country, with all its abundance and so-called opportunity, ranks 15th in overall happiness for all countries. The top 10 have some opportunity, but nowhere close to ours -- and yet they are happier.
My view is we should see advancements in our society/culture as we've seen in other fields. We have squandered our inheritance.
Anyway, true bliss and happiness is in the Lord God above and eternal life with Him. That I know. But while I'm here, I'm not too sure.