Closing The Divide, 18

I am certainly no expert, nor have I done a lot of reading about this subject. I have read a bit, but not really enough to cite my sources, so, as in many of my dear little rants on these pages, Gentle Reader, Caveat Emptor, even if I am writing from the heart, and in which case, Buyer, Really Beware! Regardless of the truthiness of my words, please do not mistake my ravings for empirical evidence. Do your own research. And send me a comment or two! I love comments! Provided they're not rude. What I am thinking about this morning, in the wee pre-dawn hours, is the fact that social inequality has been with us for a long time. But it hasn't always been with us. There wasn't much, if any, hierarchy among our hunter-gatherer ancestors, and to this day, with hunter-gatherer societies that still survive in some of earth's remotest reaches, there is no hierarchy, or very little of what we would think of as a social pecking order. That came and developed with agriculture some ten to twelve thousand years ago, or so they say. I would imagine that in hunter-gatherer societies, the demands of survival are so high, and the survival margins so thin, that everyone has to pull their share. There are no committees. A deer needs to be hunted for food, so all the hunters, which is to say almost everybody, gets together. Nuts and fruits and vegetables need to be gathered. Out everyone goes to see what they can bring in to feed the tribe. Even if there is gender differentiation for these roles, they are still shared in by everybody. Now, in our technological, post-agricultural and post-industrial era, social inequality and hierarchy appear to be embedded in our collective DNA. We still have plenty of barmy monarchy lovers fawning over the British Queen and others with whom she shares her privileged DNA. In America, we have Hollywood and rock star royalty. And then there are the billionaires. Nothing buys status like money. Even the Short-Fingered Vulgarian, also known as the Dump, who squats in the Oval Office, the Great Deplorable himself, worth billions and practically buying the Us Presidency. He has all the good manners of a drunken cab driver. But he is filthy rich, and well, filthy! But I'm talking in extremes. This is everywhere. If you have money, you're important, otherwise, step to the back of the line. And if you don't recognize these absurd hierarchies, if you tend more towards being an anarchist or an egalitarian, as in my case, well, you could end up offending quite a few people. Really, Gentle Reader, even in the workplace I don't tend to brown-nose. I treat everyone the same: bosses, coworkers and clients. I try to be equally respectful towards all, but on the other hand I am not going to pretend that a fat bank account or professional status are going to make any of you matter more than I do, or my clients, or anyone else, for that matter. This isn't really about punching above my weight, but learning to see and love the humanity that we all share in common. Oh, yes, it's all very Kumbaya, and that makes it beautiful. We are all in this together, and I think that the more of us poorer folk embrace this and share this in our interactions with others, then just maybe we can see some change begin, and the ice will begin to crack as we warm this polar waste with our love.