The Golden Ghetto

I was at BJ's the other day and had to fill up a gas container for my grill. I had a fun exchange with the service person who was very nice and as he was joking around with my wife and her dad, I was thinking to myself that at this moment there was no social distinction at all; just a natural exchange between friendly people.

It turns out that having money or superior education or upbringings too often creates artificial boundaries. Jessie O'Neill describes this problem from the perspective of the super wealthy in her book 'The Golden Ghetto'. Many wealthy are poor in spirit because they separate themselves from the rest of the society. So ironically, many rich suffer as much from their mistaken belief that they are in a class of their own, very much as some poor folks feel that something essential is missing in their lives.

I remember reading the consumer reports for a Greek restaurant in my neighborhood in which one reviewer said that the food was pretty good and she would definitely recommend it, that is, if you don't mind the lifeless expression of some of the wealthy stay-at-home moms that frequent the restaurant for lunch. It is true, I sometimes see over-dressed, super-trim women in their luxury cars and for some reason they don't look happy despite supposedly having everything their heart desires.

We are all equal, whether we have money or not, advanced degrees or not, whether we are attractive or plain, young or old. You would think an erected wall based on wealth can be torn down easily, but this is unfortunately not the case if you have been told from the day you were born that you are someone special. Unfortunately you may require a personal crisis before you find out that you aren't really any more special than the fellow next door. And according to Jessie O'Neill's research that is exactly what happens to many who are born into rich families.