[Rob]

I've lived abroad for several years and I have had the advantange of observing American culture from the outside. I believe Americans are obsessed with class because Americans are obsessed with self-expression. In the American point of view, a life lived in anonymity is a wasted life. Thus, many Americans feel that they must find some way to set themselves apart from the rest - to mark their passage in this world. The best way to do this is to accumulate wealth and then show it off, because wealth is not easy to attain. The American dream is to live in an expensive dwelling, situated in an exclusive area of town, drive (or be driven) to a high power-job in an expensive car, eat power lunches at exclusive restaurants, send the kids to exclusive schools, belong to exclusive clubs, and generally disassociate one's self and one's progeny from "the great unwashed."

It seems that many of the people who have attained membership in the upper-class feel that it is their God-given right to look down at those who haven't and sneer because they've set themselves apart. It's their form of self-expression - that they're intrinsically better than most other people because of who they are and what they have.

The beauty of America is that class-climbing is possible with hard work and luck. Membership in the upper-class is not barred to those who choose their parents poorly. However, the ugliness that is exhibited by those who have attained membership in the upper-class is not confined to Americans. Rather, this ugliness is common to all members of the upper-class, nationality notwithstanding.

User Detail :  

Name : Rob, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Episcopalian, Age : 33, City : Tacoma, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : Attorney, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

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