Class Matters free essay sample

Shadowy Lines that Still Divide,† by Janny Scott and David Leonhardt My Armenian-born parents are a clear representation of the promise of equal opportunity and spirit of freedom that the United States is meant to embody. As refugees of World War I, my family came to America in pursuit of liberty with their kinship and industriousness as their â€Å"only† resources. Today, my parents own 100% of their home on WaiKiki Beach in Hawaii, and paid for my tuition at the same private school President Obama attended. Their success story is a great testimony to US idealism, and its departure from the rigid class system of the Old World.At the same time, my parents’ journey to the New World came before the end of the industrial age, when capitalism, on a national scale, was still emerging. They were born in time to witness America at its height as a superpower, when access to â€Å"new† money, property, and quality education was available for most white ethnics to join the ranks of (at least) the middle class. We will write a custom essay sample on Class Matters or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page On the other hand, I was born after the Baby Boomers, when post WWII expansionism, the New Deal economy, and advances in civil rights were retrenching, and globalization and privatization were on the upswing.Coming of age in the post 60’s era and dealing with chronic mental health problems has changed my perspective on the accessibility of the American dream and its promise of equal opportunity. To put it mildly, things did not go according to my expectations. In my own case, I grew up with serious privilege, so a large part of my financial insecurity is of my own making; at the same time, my recovery has exposed me to a diversity of class and ethnic experiences, which have contributed to my awareness of how difficult self-sufficiency, let alone class mobility is for most people in my human network today.Consequently, I am much more cynical about the â€Å"rags to riches† story of America than the majority of others in my upper-middle class bracket. According to the da ta from a 2005 New York Times series of articles on class and mobility in the United States, optimism about the American dream is predominant in every income group; however, the idea that class is not a barrier to generating wealth in the US is especially prevalent in the type of affluent community in which I was raised (hooks 17). In the first chapter of Class Matters, entitled, â€Å"Shadowy Lines That Still Divide,† authors Janny Scott and David Leonhardt present an analysis of the NYT series. Most of the results were not surprising, since humans are emotional beings, and this effects their decision making more than statistical facts. National identity is important to Americans, and as a result, people are more motivated by the belief in â€Å"rags to riches† folklore than historical context and statistics.The â€Å"less is more† attitude towards government and Horatio Alger stories are part of American’s self-image, even if they are â€Å"punched up† a bit to underscore the notion of classlessness in the US (hooks 25). Evidencing these legends are true stories like those of my Armenian relatives who truly demonstrated an honorable work ethic and self-sacrificing behaviors. The point is not to minimize the hard-won success of the previous generations, but to acknowledge the role that structural forces had on assimilation, and shed some light on where some of these consequences of increased inequality and lower class mobility are coming from.I realize that government is not to blame for my current financial problems. Like many other children of my generation that take their privileges for granted, and manipulate well-intentioned parents to cosign our selfishness and laziness, I have an incredibly far way to go before I start holding the conservatives responsible for my current job or housing insecurity.It’s just to make the point that since the 1970’s, in this so-called meritocracy, the top 1% of earners increased their income by 139%, while the middle fifth received an increase of 17% over the same period of time (hooks 19). Probably, it is up to my generation and the ones that follow to get our individual acts together and start being more of service in, both, our personal lives and in our efforts to reform the system so it functions more equitably across class divides.Fortunately, I already see positive changes occurring in this direction, which are not reflected in Chapter 1 of Class Matter’s opinion polls because these surveys do not take age into account (hooks 6-7). I think my cynicism about the American Dream is catching on more among the younger age groups, who are graduating with huge debt and Bachelor’s degrees with few meaningful income opportunities attached to them.Given the results of the 2008 Presidential election and persistent economic problems such as rising college tuition and unemployment, the younger generations are no longer relying on the promise that they will be better off than their parents. According to exit polls, Obama won big among young, minority voters, and race played less of a role in the election than age (NYT, â€Å"Exit Polls†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). John McCain did well with older Americans who tend to still be wedded to their stories of unlimited prosperity through hard work and self-sacrifice as being.