{"id":114,"date":"2012-01-09T08:39:00","date_gmt":"2012-01-09T08:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low\/"},"modified":"2017-03-09T17:33:14","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T22:33:14","slug":"new-money-new-low","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html","title":{"rendered":"New Money, New Low"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019m just going to come out and say it: the French Revolution frakked everything up.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
It\u2019s obvious that nothing good can come of this<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

I\u2019m not saying the old aristocratic system was fair, nor am I saying that abuses didn\u2019t happen regularly. They did, I\u2019m sure. But after watching so much Downton Abbey, I\u2019m more convinced than ever that there was something to the idea of the \u201cnobility\u201d after all. People like the Earl of Grantham took their position seriously. They believed that there was something to this idea of being noble, and that to fulfill what was given to them they had to, you know, be noble<\/i>. Even if it meant opening up their family home to injured and recovering soldiers. Even if it meant starting a soup kitchen for soldiers returning from the front out of their own funds. Even if it meant sacrificing the life they had carefully cultivated for their daughters because injured men needed care, and the girls were willing to help.<\/p>\n

This morning one of my friends posted this little gem <\/a>on facebook and well, I threw up in my mouth a little. In case you don\u2019t want to click on the link, I\u2019ll just tell you. Jay-Z and Beyonce, two of the most odiously-named celebrities in the world, had their daughter in a Manhattan hospital yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pretty people, awful names<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

They rented out an entire floor for the festive C-section\u2026the floor which also happened to contain the NICU.<\/p>\n

The NICU, people. The place where newborn babies are fighting for their lives. Beyonce and her entourage allegedly rented out the floor where terrified, anxious parents pace the hallways, waiting for the precious minutes in which they will be allowed to see their sick and injured infants. As the article alleges, every time anyone from Beyonce\u2019s crew wanted to use the hallway, everyone else was ushered out and the floor went on lockdown.<\/p>\n

Parents were apparently kept from seeing their babies in the NICU. Doctors were kept from seeing patients.<\/p>\n

What. The. Hell?<\/p>\n

No, seriously. This is appalling. I mean look, it may not be true. And yet I wouldn\u2019t be even a<\/i> little<\/i> surprised if it were true, which in itself says something about the character of these two asshats. Granted, the hospital should never have allowed this. And yet\u2026and yet, what do these two think happens in a hospital? People are ill or in childbirth. They need access to doctors and OR\u2019s and medical equipment. What did they think would happen when they rented out an entire floor<\/i>?\u00a0 And what for? Who needs a whole floor for a C-section? One room, people. Two at the most. <\/p>\n

On the facebook thread, my friend mentioned that even the royal family doesn\u2019t do this. They rent out one corner of a hospital floor where they can come and go and keep their security intact without disrupting the other laboring women and their families. Someone said that this is the difference between old money and new.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something to that, although you can\u2019t boil it down quite that simply. There are plenty of people who are \u201cnew money\u201d who would never dream of pulling the ridiculously selfish stunt that Beyonce and Jay-Z just pulled. And there are plenty of old money people who would.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s something to the idea that if one family inherits money, land and a title, that family owes everything to others. To the ancestors who built what they now have, to the people whose jobs provide for the family\u2019s daily needs, and to the people around them who have less than they do. Generosity wasn\u2019t always found in the aristocracy, it\u2019s true; but it was often found there.<\/p>\n

How many of today\u2019s celebrities, America\u2019s aristocracy, would open up their homes and their wallets to soldiers returning from war? How many would use their position to help? And I don\u2019t mean to proselytize their opinions on just who\u2019s to blame for the war, but to actually, physically, help<\/i>. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think very many would. Certainly not in the way the British aristocracy opened up their country homes and let their daughters go off to drive ambulances and tend soldiers and man anti-aircraft guns while their sons fought at the front during the two world wars. <\/p>\n

I really do think that the way the money comes about plays into this. After all, if you\u2019ve made your own money, it\u2019s yours. You\u2019ve done it. You don\u2019t owe anyone anything, and can do with it whatever you please. But if the money is given to you, well, then, you have someone you owe. Usually many people. You were entrusted with the money and you must honor that trust.<\/p>\n

Right? What do you think? I\u2019m not calling for a return to aristocracy\u2026actually, I think that would be impossible in this day and age, and furthermore a democracy actually does hold the greatest potential for universal recognition of essential human dignity. But there\u2019s something so vulgar in the Hollywood elite. Many things, really. And since all people who have money don\u2019t behave that way, there has to be something about the way <\/i>the money was made that makes the entertainment aristocracy particularly grotesque. I\u2019m just not sure what it is. <\/p>\n

Oh yeah, and I do realize that I\u2019m painting with a broad brush here, but I can\u2019t split all the hairs that ought to be split in a blog post. Let me just put it this way: for every Bono there is a Jennifer Lopez.<\/p>\n

So, theories? Why is it that the entertainment industry seems to have the corner on these kinds of tacky displays of wealth at the expense of those around them?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m just going to come out and say it: the French Revolution frakked everything up. It\u2019s obvious that nothing good can come of this I\u2019m not saying the old aristocratic system was fair, nor am I saying that abuses didn\u2019t happen regularly. They did, I\u2019m sure. But after watching so much Downton Abbey, I\u2019m more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1110,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Money, New Low<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm just going to come out and say it: the French Revolution frakked everything up.It's obvious that nothing good can come of thisI'm not saying the old\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Money, New Low\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I'm just going to come out and say it: the French Revolution frakked everything up.It's obvious that nothing good can come of thisI'm not saying the old\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Barefoot and Pregnant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-01-09T08:39:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-03-09T22:33:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-bEbCsCoglH8\/TwsVPflKP3I\/AAAAAAAABHc\/Bi_cps3VZBc\/s400\/french+revolution.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Calah Alexander\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Calah Alexander\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html\",\"name\":\"New Money, New Low\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-01-09T08:39:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-03-09T22:33:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/#\/schema\/person\/cbd5af11d9f73881b801bf2e07eb8757\"},\"description\":\"I'm just going to come out and say it: the French Revolution frakked everything up.It's obvious that nothing good can come of thisI'm not saying the old\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Money, New Low\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/\",\"name\":\"Barefoot and Pregnant\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/#\/schema\/person\/cbd5af11d9f73881b801bf2e07eb8757\",\"name\":\"Calah Alexander\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf23055e0549e8c78beb5077e949befd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf23055e0549e8c78beb5077e949befd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Calah Alexander\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/author\/calahalexander\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Money, New Low","description":"I'm just going to come out and say it: the French Revolution frakked everything up.It's obvious that nothing good can come of thisI'm not saying the old","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Money, New Low","og_description":"I'm just going to come out and say it: the French Revolution frakked everything up.It's obvious that nothing good can come of thisI'm not saying the old","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html","og_site_name":"Barefoot and Pregnant","article_published_time":"2012-01-09T08:39:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-03-09T22:33:14+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-bEbCsCoglH8\/TwsVPflKP3I\/AAAAAAAABHc\/Bi_cps3VZBc\/s400\/french+revolution.jpg"}],"author":"Calah Alexander","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Calah Alexander","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html","name":"New Money, New Low","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-01-09T08:39:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-03-09T22:33:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/#\/schema\/person\/cbd5af11d9f73881b801bf2e07eb8757"},"description":"I'm just going to come out and say it: the French Revolution frakked everything up.It's obvious that nothing good can come of thisI'm not saying the old","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2012\/01\/new-money-new-low.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Money, New Low"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/","name":"Barefoot and Pregnant","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/#\/schema\/person\/cbd5af11d9f73881b801bf2e07eb8757","name":"Calah Alexander","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf23055e0549e8c78beb5077e949befd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf23055e0549e8c78beb5077e949befd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Calah Alexander"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/author\/calahalexander"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}