The one thing I have gleaned from this thread is that everyone who agrees with the OP believes that anyone can be rich, as long as they work hard. I see lots of anecdotes about people growing up poor, but going to college while working two jobs, living within their means, and finally breaking through to wealth. Thus, the assumption that anyone else could do it, and everyone who doesn't dothat is lazy and worthless.
This is an attractive philosphy, because it embodies the American "can-do" attitude, and motivates people to work hard while providing them with a dream and a goal to work towards.
However, everyone who disagrees with the OP seems to be of a different view: that while hard work can pay off in the form of wealth, oftentimes it needs to be paired with favorable circumstances, such as being white, or having parents that paid for their college education. This camp possesses a belief that there are many people who, despite working their asses off, simply do not have the social or economic power to ascend to wealth. This is not because they are lazy or worthless, but simply because they lack the benefits that the rich had.
Every argument in this thread distills down to the debate over whether every single person in America has the ability to be as successful as anyone else. If you believe that, then you are effectively saying that anyone making less than you is not trying hard enough. If you deny that statement, then you are effectively diminishing the results of those who did work hard to get where they are by saying that their success is due to luck as much as hard work.
As with every other point of contention, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Lots of people in this country worked their asses off in the past to get where they are now, and we should all celebrate their accomplishments as fellow Americans, because that truly is the American dream. But it's arrogant to assume that just because you were able to realize that dream, that every other person in the USA should be able to as well. A poor black child growing up in the ghetto with sub-standard schooling and no chance of going to college is not going to have the same opportunities as a lower-middle-class suburbanite white kid. Add to that the fact that many people are performaing extremely worthwhile services as their jobs, but making little money, because they are doing what they love or realize the importance of their vocation. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone became an investment broker or a lwayer, with no one left to be a janitor, or a plumber, or a teacher.
Just to give you all some information about myself and where I am coming from, I grew up in a middle-class family. My parents probably brought in around 100k/year before taxes. I had one sibling, and we both had to take out student loans to go to college, and pay for our own cars and insurance. I am now married, and my wife and I bring in about 140k/year before taxes. We pay over $600/month in student loans between the two of us. I would say we are pretty well off, despite having to be careful with our money. We just bought a house in the country, I have a new car, and we are able to take a few nice vacations a year. But we have to budget everything in order to make sure we can afford those vacations.
So while I realize we are above the national and local average for household income, I also do not believe we are extraordinarily wealthy. But being that we are lucky enough, and worked hard enough, to get where we are today, I don't have any problem with helping others out so they too can try to make it. Yes, there are freeloaders, and many many people who are truly lazy and just looking for handouts (most of my relatives fit this bill), but we shouldn't begrudge the people who honestly just need a little help because of a few bad apples. Whether helping others out should be mandatory or voluntary is another topic for another time, but I believe that from a moral perspective, saying that somebody who makes less money than you doesn't deserve any of your help is greedy and selfish. Yes, you earned that money fair and square, but it's just plain compassion to want to help others out.
Another thing is, I don't think anybody here is "vilifying" the rich. Being successful is not a bad thing, and nobody wants to say that it is. Again, the crux of the discussion is whether people are better off should be providing assistance to those who are not.