Adam Shaw writing for Foxnews.com declares that Pope Francis has opened a “War on Aspiration” by calling out the excesses of capitalism and the resulting human suffering. 

The Pope has challenged the idea that trickle-down economics works to create a shared economic prosperity and called into question values that are focused inordinately on money and markets over people.

According to Mr. Shaw’s fevered account, the casualties of this crusade are regular Joes like him struggling to put food on the family table.

Shaw, by misrepresenting his words, creates a straw Pope and a false narrative which helps divert from the power and verity of Pope Francis’ message.

PopeFrancis

Is it conceivable that Pope Francis is “waging a war” on our most earnest, personal hopes and dreams? Or, with an honest look at his meaning, is he calling out guys like these:

Billionaire investor and TV personality, Kevin O’leary responded to a recent Oxfam study which reported that the world’s 85 richest people have equal wealth to the 3.5 billion poorest, this way: “it’s fantastic.”

“It inspires everybody, gets them motivation to look up to the 1% and say, ‘I want to become one of those people, I’m going to fight hard to get up to the top,'” … “This is fantastic news and of course I applaud it. What can be wrong with this?”… “It’s a celebratory stat, I’m very excited about it… wonderful to see it happen.”

The President of Freedom Industries, on the night that began an ongoing, catastrophic chemical spill in WV waters, dodged several press questions and then tried to walk away from further inquiry on the effects of the spill on the people of the state saying, “it’s been an extremely long day…” Since then it’s been revealed that Freedom failed to disclose a second chemical that was spilled at the same time into the Elk River.

Thomas Perkins is a venture capitalist who recently wrote in the pages of the WSJ that the “progressive war on the 1%” is comparable to Nazis Germany’s campaign against the Jews. In a follow up interview he said he should not have referred specifically to “Kristallnacht,” but stood by his message over all. He also talked about his watch which he said could buy a “six pack of Rolexes.”

It takes an almost super human feat of make believe and denial to pretend that Pope Francis is in any way talking about the needs of average people for economic security and to work toward their dreams, while simultaneously blocking out the obvious disregard, greed and off-the-rails public proclamations of the ultra-rich.

But that’s why they call it the Fox Bubble.