Social Class

Social Class

         What is social class? Social class is commonly defined as the division of society and economic status. This division is usually divided into three classes consisting of the lower (poor), middle and upper (rich) categories. It’s based off of what we consider to be of socio-economic importance: location, occupation, income, connections/resources, appearance, communication/vocabulary, material possessions, race, education, etc. All these things combined can affect our way of living including the way we see ourselves and others.

         Where I attended middle-high school consisted of students in a lower-middle social class range. In my school being Caucasian put me in the minority group whereas the majority were Hispanic or African American.  I remember once when I was in sixth grade, I decided to attend a UIL poetry club. I was extremely shy and kept to myself. In one of the club meetings a girl came and sat next to me, we made small talk, but again because of my shy awkwardness I kept to myself. After a few moments of knowing me she poked me and said “you’re rich aren’t you?” I responded saying “no, I’m just like everybody else”. She wouldn’t believe me and continued to push “no you must be rich. You’re white, you’re wearing a skirt to school and your dad is the principle at the school”. She proceeded to question me why I would attend our school when I could obviously go to a better one. I tried to explain to her that I wasn’t rich but she wouldn’t have it. I began to feel uncomfortable. I don’t know what her family circumstances were, but I had never thought less of her. I had never compared her circumstances to mine and I was hurt that she was only looking at me from the outside based on my appearance, the color of my skin and my dad’s occupation.

         I had the privilege to live and serve God for a year and a half in Sao Paulo, Brazil. If you didn’t know, Brazil is considered a third world country, but they are some of the warmest and happiest people that you could meet. While there I was able to visit people from all walks of life. I sat and visited people mostly  in homes that were built of dirt floors, plywood walls and tin roofs, some other houses that were constructed of concrete floors, walls and ceilings and a very select few that were built like middle to upper class houses in the united states. There is a clear distinction in Brazil of the different social classes. It is perceived easily by the location and house of where someone lives, the clothes they wear, the way they speak, education, income, possessions, etc. I found that people who are from the middle class or upper class in Brazil may speak better and be more educated but that doesn’t make them any better from someone of a lower class. They are just as honest, hardworking, family oriented, etc. as those in higher social classes. Likewise, the same problems you find in lower class families you can find in upper class families dealing with drugs, violence, dishonesty, etc. I also found it interesting and sad at times how when people would meet me and see that I was American they would automatically assume that my life was great and I was rich. I too face problems no matter how I may appear to the world. Those people didn’t know that I’ve lost everything and been homeless at one point. They didn’t know that I worked 2 full time jobs for a whole year to save the money to go to Brazil and serve. They saw the outside of my appearance and decided to treat me based on what they saw.

       

       It frustrates me when we judge others on their appearance and treat them accordingly. We shouldn’t treat people differently because they are from a different social class then us. If God is no respecter of persons than why should we be any different?

Some families will try to get ahead in life to create better circumstances for their children. There is nothing wrong with trying to get ahead to provide a better life for the family, but at what expense? 

Often times when we seek money as a means to increase our social status we break up the family structure. If one or both parents work more, this can cause them to not be as involved in the children’s lives. The roles in the family will change, the children can often take on more responsibility in the house or spend more time participating in suspicious activity with the lack of parental supervision. It’s funny how the parents sometimes will work harder and longer hours to provide a better life for their children, but by doing so they are losing their relationship with them.

         I think that the important thing to remember is to live within our means. Yes, we should do our best to provide the best for our children. However, we shouldn’t do it at the cost of losing our family along the way. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Likewise, we need to stop judging our happiness based on social standing. Whether rich or poor you can be a great person or a terrible person. We shouldn’t rank the value of people based on money, but rather on their actions. I wise man named Deiter F. Uchtdorf once said “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you”. The quote applies also in the context of social status signifying to not judge me or others because they come from a different social class than you.

   

                             
The people living in the houses posted above may not have had much in means of material possessions, but they were still some of the best people I've had the privilege to meet. Experiences with them in their homes taught me more about the savior and relying on his atonement than anything else could have. I'm grateful to these families for letting me be a part of their lives.