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Just saw a bit of a documentary on TV about social classes in the USA. Did not see the beginning and had to leave before the end. Why is it that the US operates on this myth that it is a society where equality reigns supreme? Surely the gap between your mythology and your reality may prove too great at one point. Is it enough to sustain it by arguing that it is a society of equal opportunity, not necessarily of equal results? Is it enough to have the political figureheads create images that they are blessed with the "common touch" and use language that is calculated both in form and in content to perpetuate this myth?
Follow Ups:
from a Canadian who didn't watch the beginning nor the end of a program???? Oh, yes, I am going to hang my hat on your opinion. Feel free to stay where you are, keep your opinions to yourself, and watch 1/2 of a program before offering your "informed" opinion. Sheesh!
I doubt that you have any kind of hat to hang anywhere.
Class is something that is and always has been a component of American society. I point you towards some of the more seminal works by Dr. Mills "The Power Elite" and Dr. Zinn's "A Peoples History of the United States" as two of the better works.
However, what you are discussing is the fact that there is an aversion to look at class values and differences on a political and social level, and not that said does not exist. When in fact this all arose with the cold war when "Communist bastadrs" and other socialists, became the dark clouds on the American horizon: Read McCarthyism. Now, to speak of class inequalities is to promote rebuttals featuring the words "commie" or "socialist" or worst. Just look at Mr. Edwards.
Ah, the common American is as happy blind and oblivious as informed and educated. Unfortunately, the latter spurs on as much action, for good or bad, as does the last, for good or bad.
I think basically that we cannot discuss social classes in American, even to understand it on any kind of level, without someone thinking you might be out to do something about it: Reverse-activism at its finest. Instead, the myth of these United States is acculturated and spread from sea to shining sea. It is kind of like people who clean their rooms by shoving everything under the bed.
I ask: How many rich people attend the same social events as middle and poor and are not separated by things like grandstands and box seats? How many poor southern beauties make it to be debutants? Just look at both Mr. Kerry and President Bush: They both attended top schools from childhood on up that 90% of Americans cannot afford to attend? How many of you went to summer camp with the very poor if you were rich and the very rich if you were poor?
But, then again, I could be completely wrong.
and proven that you don't have to be poor to be white trash.
Hi,
the country's changing, and some it is for the worse.
All I can think is go ask a librarian (a good University research librarian would be ideal) to get you started.
No matter how rich or poor, we Americans are without class!
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Our apologies...
NT.
How’s the humidity in Birmingham this time of the year? I have heard it is horrendous on odd days living in the area I guess you always wish that everyday is an even day eh.I lived in a landlocked city so humidity is not an issue but dry heat is which akin to living in the desert region. Oh well you cannot have everything I supposed.
but yesterday's level at over 80% was distinctly unpleasant!I hope your house move went well, that you are now settled in, and listen happily in your new audio room .....
Have a good week!
You know all about it. … How the heck did you ever find out when I have not told you all about it yet. It did not go well as we have intended as the matter of fact we are living on boxes now. We have so much stuff I must have given away a ton of it to the Salvation Army during and after the move however, it seems that it did not make a dent. We have to purge some more so we can free up the space in our 2-car attached garage and use it for parking instead of storage area. This reminds me of George Carlin’s old saying, “You don’t own things they owned you” this holds true right about now.On the brighter side, the whole basement of the house is all mines to play around with having said that I will finally have my own dedicated 2-channel listening room with a dimension of 4x5m. enough to house all my tube equipment. The Home Theater set-up room is slightly larger with a dimension of 4x6m. and another rooms for my vinyl/cd/tapes storage, recreational room for the boys and a hobby room for the wife (I agree she does need her own little room for her knitting).
Anyway, all these will take time and money so I will have to take it slow and easy as she goes.
is that I think a lot of people find that they are in a very similar situation!Stuff the cars, I think you need all the space you can find for a few "garage sales". Once you have some space, that's when the financial caution really needs to kick in, as it seems to me that the possible furnishing costs of a house of a reasonable size seem able to be easily mistaken for the Gross Domestic Product of a Third World Nation.
I hope all goes well with you. Keep me informed!
Regards,
Already she is thinking about changing the existing Venetian blinds in our family room that covers the window of about 4m. wide and about 3.5m. high a job that would certainly set us backs a few shillings if she goes ahead with her idea. I am not sure why she thinks it is outdated when this house was built only 2 years ago. I am hoping that she will not ever finds out that actually some of our furniture were built 60 years ago. BTW, I am already hiding some of my antique wood cabinet collectible tube radios underneath our bed I think this will be the safest place for them as this is the last place she will ever look.
I am not sure what possessed me that day to give her the free reign of re furnishing the 2/3 of the house.
Constitution EVER guaranteed was equality in the PURSUIT of happiness. Results were never guaranteed nor could they be.
"If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving's probably not for you".
No kidding. It bugs me that people have this notion that they are owed something by simply being a citizen.If someone can't "make it" in this country, they won't be able to "make it" in any country. Just by being born here, they have more opportunity then 90% of the rest of the people in the world.
Poverty in the US means 1.5 color TV's and slightly more than one car per household. Poverty in other countries means not being able to get food to eat.
Because people from outside the USA see opportunity where citizens only see problems. Witness the "Paki" convenience store owners. Hell, one of the biggest and fastest growing mortgage companies in the USA is owned by Vietnamese. We're surrounded by opportunity and too few among us recognize it.
"If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving's probably not for you".
In Britain, most local cornershops... imagine a block of terraced houses and yes its the corner one converted to a shop at the front with access straight through to a living room... have for several decades been largely run by Indian and actually probably mainly Pakistani families.
Staying open from early til late and beingvery convenient for last minute needs has become absolutely a neccessary part of life.
Opportunity is there to be taken, and good luck to them.
I really liked the people who ran my local shops.
Very helpfull, willing to stock stuff you asked for and not expensive.
What more can you ask?
The US Constitution says all men are created equal under the law. In other words you dont have one law for the rich and another for the poor, one law for the aristocrat and another for the peasant, one law for the church and another for the laiety. You have the same law for everyone. This was a radical idea in 1776.The Founding Fathers said nothing about social equality and would have considered the idea foolish. With the possible exception of Patrick Henry and he was nuts anyway.
Assuming it was radical, was it unique? What you are in effect saying is that the Constitution is on one level and the life of the US population on another, that the equality provision is a matter of virtual equality as opposed to real equality? If there is only one law for the rich and poor alike, why is there such a great proportion of the prison population composed of minorities?
who commit the crimes?? And, who NEED to?
"If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving's probably not for you".
Those with George Washingtons in their wallet; those with Andrew Jacksons; and those with Benjamin Franklins.
And an occasional Woodrow Wilson on Sundays!
"Music is the brandy of the damned." -- George Bernard Shaw
untill 1969 and occasionally private banks continued to issue them through about 1972 or 1973. Each serial number was recorded at issuance and deposit.Just to be an obnoxious show-off I paid for a major "audiophile" system in $1,000 notes I ordered from my bank in the early 1970s (in spite of Nixon's order). Trust me, there were several others in the drawer and a couple of $5,000 as well.
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Ooops sorry I thought you said mallet.
You and I obviously belong in the same one.
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