Born On the Third Base Post

In the book Born On the Third Base, I learned the unique view about social structure and money from Chuck Collins, the great-grandson Oscar Mayer, the owner one of the well-known meat produce brands in the United States. As someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth, I was surprised to find out his passion towards eliminating inequalities in the world instead of focusing on the accumulation of wealth of his family business, like we would usually assume for the state of mind of rich people. After graduating from a private high school, instead of attending college, Collins chose to conduct his own social experience and lived in a working-class city in Boston. This is also the place where changed his view towards the world and money when Collins was able to break free from his privileged lifestyle and meet with people from different social class. Through working in various industries and positions, Collins began to understand the uneven distribution of wealth in our society and the distorted law and rules that are made in rich people's favor and was inspired to devote into the cause of promoting equality between social classes. In his book, Collins engaged in a variety of topics that closely related to the established rules in our society, including taxes, affirmative actions, parental investments and government subsidies. He addressed these topics in an approachable fashion that makes the audience related to his interpretations of the role of money in these public issues. Overall, he stands out as a grass-roots social warrior fight for justice and equality rather than a wealthy billionaire full of Bourgeois ideas in his mind. I admire his efforts to strive towards a society with equal opportunities for individuals and his generosity to use his money as a source of power in promoting this wonderful cause.

Chuck Collins and his deeds in fighting for social justice also make me think about the differences between the eastern and western ideology of privileged class. In Chinese society, scandalous new about embezzlement and tax-evasion happens in a frequent manner among the wealthiest 1 %. Such phenomenon has presented an awful image of the rich, who do not care about philanthropic work but also takes advantage of the underprivileged group in our society. On the other hand, donations and aid funds for the poor are often considered as rare events, and significant income gaps still exist between the country and the urban area as a serious problem. I truly hope that Collin's devotion would inspire more and rich people from upper class around the world to realize the importance of social equality and their efforts on this issue is imperative. Just like Collins mentioned, "our challenge is to use our special privileges to eliminate special privileges and build healthy communities and an economy that works for everyone", the problem about rich people promoting social equality itself seems to be self-contradictory. However, to realize this problem and strive for solving it is what makes the billionaires who devoted to charity work become admirable.  They are willing to give up what makes them special from the others and help individuals in our society realize their dreams in a world based on openness, equality, and love. I am blessed to learn about Collin's vision about our world, and I respect his effort in making this world a better place for all of us.