The dark side of the American Dream

Reading Bitch Ph.D. today, I came across this post in which she touches on the ways that race and economic class can be confused with intelligence. It couldn't be more timely. I've had some experiences this week that led me to draw the same conclusion.

First, some background. I was raised in Wamego, Kansas. There were just over 100 people in my graduating class, and all but a handful of us were from white middle class families. When the occasional black student would complain of racism, I would roll my eyes: I simply didn't believe that it still existed. Since it wasn't acceptable to be gay in my school, I didn't encounter any gay students until I was well into high school. When I finally did, my friends and I reacted to our outted friend with insufferable bigotry masqurading as tolerance. I am ashamed to admit we made him cry.

Jumping ahead a little, two years ago my wife and I found ourselves moving from Wamego, Kansas to Omaha, Nebraska so I could take a job as a software developer at a small accounting firm. After six months here, our financial situation led to me taking a second part time job at Radioshack. I worked both jobs for a year, and let me tell you, working 70 hours a week for two different employers is unpleasant at best and I don't recommend it to anyone. In December I was finally able to leave Radioshack.

Fast forward to last week. I went out Wednesday and Friday nights with some friends I made while working at Radioshack. Both nights, I picked up one friend in particular, and in so doing I've gained some insight into the power of economic class.

Stepping into her apartment was an eye opening experience. So many things jumped out at me all at once. There was nothing on the walls. I noticed the radio they were listening to sounded worse than the computer speakers I had recently replaced because I didn't like their sound quality. While my friend got ready to go, I sat on the couch, and a roach crawled up from between the cushions. At one point, I caught a glimpse into a bedroom and saw a mattress sitting on the floor and not much else.

I was struck by the fact that my friend's every day living conditions are worse than any likely worse case scenario that would ever happen to my family. In all probability, the worst case would find us living with my parents or my in-laws. It wouldn't be easy and it certainly wouldn't be fun, but I know that whatever happens, I probably won't fall out of the upper-middle class lifestyle. What makes my friend's daily life worse than my worst case scenario?

It has made me think about what enables me to live the life I live. The obvious answer to the question above is that her parents aren't living a better lifestyle than she is, or she could resort to moving in with them just like I can. That answer is starting to hint at something, but it's still only a hint.

Another easy answer is to consider my income. Computer programmers make more money than sales associates at Radioshack. Following up with that, it's tempting to think that my friend could live in better conditions if only she expected more out of life. In my head I hear myself giving her the usual spiel: go to college, earn a degree, earn more money*. Perhaps that is all true, but I can't help wondering: if standards of living were simply a matter of self expectations, shouldn't it be true that I could also live better if only I were to expect more? It's obvious (to me at least) that while I would love to live better than I currently do, I am already doing everything I know how to live as well as I can. Perhaps the problem, then, is that she doesn't know what resources are available to help her move up the ladder.

Probably it's a little bit of all of that, and lots of other reasons too. Whatever the reason, it has become clear to me that economic class is a much greater force in our society than we usually acknowledge. It's much harder to rise above the class you were born into than the American Dream meme would have us believe. And just as importantly, it's equally hard to fall below your birth class.

The American Dream, then, has an unheralded dark side. With the expectation that hard work is always rewarded comes the idea that anyone who has not been rewarded must not work hard. It promotes the perception that people in economic classes lower than yours are lazy and stupid. Professor B summed it up well. Economic class is usually mistaken for intelligence.

I'm a little sad that it took me this long for this idea to hit home, especially considering how often I've been exposed to the relevent ideas, at least in writing. I think it lends credibility to Professor B's concern that children's education is harmed when their exposure to diversity is limited. I'm glad my kids will grow up in a better environment than I did in that respect. Omaha may not be the best place to raise two young progressives, but at least they'll meet people with different colored skin.


* I should mention that I don't have a college degree. I attended Kansas State University for a year, and then found a job programming computers and more or less never looked back. That only underscores the point that the economic class into which I was born has provided me with additional opportunities.