America: A Class Divided

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On Christmas Eve in 2010, my grandmother received a gift from a hospice nurse who was assisting with my grandfather’s deteriorating health. Initially both surprised and embarrassed by the gesture, her emotions quickly changed once she removed the wrapping. A single package of Ramen Noodles was revealed. Embarrassment changed to confusion as she attempted to wrap her mind around what she had received. The hospice worker drove a 1997 Plymouth Voyager that she regularly complained about not being able to run properly for more than a week. She wore old worn out clothing and my grandmother claims she had never seen the woman wear jewelry before. It was evident that she was not wealthy. Although she could not afford a gift, the nurse in her benevolence, did not want to show up empty handed on Christmas Eve. I recognized the societal inequality and couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong. This altruistic nurse, who was sacrificing her Christmas Eve to tend to an elderly man whom before she had not known, could not even afford to fix her car. Although she worked harder than anyone who I had ever met, almost 60 hours a week, it was she who was struggling to pay the bills. This is not our ancestors’ America. Over the last 100 years American has been beseeched by a seemingly benign transformation that has led us astray from our national values and has led us to ignore our individual senses of right and wrong. The United States was founded upon the idea that if you are willing to work hard you should be able to get ahead. For some this means achieving financial stability, to others it means becoming financially better off than their parents were, but nonetheless it means that working hard today should pay dividends in the futur... ... middle of paper ... ...v. 2013. . Why We Shouldn't Trust Markets with Our Civic Life. Dir. Michael Sandel. Perf. Michael Sandel. Ted Talks. Ted Talks, June 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. . Zhao, Emmeline. "Best Education In The World: Finland, South Korea Top Country Rankings, U.S. Rated Average." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. . Zhao, Emmeline. "High School Dropout Rates For Minority And Poor Students Disproportionately High." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. .

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