"Scoop from the bottom"

Several years ago, I was a waitress at a little restaurant in Michigan called the Parkway Inn. There was a regular customer who would always order soup with her dinner and demand that her waitress "scoop from the bottom." As I write this, I can hear her voice again, plain as day, and it makes me shiver a little. I used to get really angry when I waited on this woman. How selfish to demand all the good parts of the soup for yourself when that means leaving others with a less desirable portion! I realize that soup is a pretty insignifogant part of life, but her request pointed to a deeper mentality that really bothered me.

Sadly, I think that too many Americans vote for the politician they think will "scoop from the bottom" for them. "Joe the plumber" from last night's debate is a perfect example. Instead of feeling blessed and grateful that he has the money and opportunity to own his own business, Joe worries that he'll have to pay higher taxes and spend money to provide health insurance for his employees. I wish the American dream involved looking out for others and making sacrifices to so that we can all live a decent life. Instead it seems to mean that we do whatever it takes to stake a claim on the things that are important to us while leaving the more vulnerable members of the population to deal with the consequences.