Social Class & Cultural Diversity

Dear Kids,

Right now, you are all pretty young and largely unaware of anything dealing with social classes. You know some things pertaining to cultural diversity because you have many friends and classmates that are from different countries or have different traditions than you are used to. 

Well, I want you to know that I think social classes are very silly but they are a part of life for some reason. As soon as anyone gets ahead in life and makes a better situation for themselves, it seems almost inevitable that they begin to prop themselves up and look down on others. I don't understand it and I don't like it, but it seems to be the case. PLEASE, don’t do this.

I want you to grow and be successful in life. I want you all to have security and safety and have opportunities that come from wealth and success. My greatest desire is that it comes to you without the pride and the awareness of a higher “social class” that makes you somehow better than your neighbor. 

I watched a couple video clips about people from different social classes. They all seemed so silly. There was one story of a woman and her fiancé driving in a car together through some neighborhood. It seemed to me that they could have been deciding on where they would live together. It was a point of strife for them because, in their minds at least, they came from different social classes. She was supposed to be high class and he was, I think, middle class. It must have been middle class because I don't think she would have been seen with him if he was lower than that on the totem pole. It didn't seem like she wanted to associate with any of his family or peers because they were also middle class instead of upper class.

Can I tell you kids…It does not matter where you come from or how much money you make. Strength of character is what counts. Moral values and life goals are what counts. When your mother married me, she told me that she would rather marry me and live in a cardboard box than marry anyone else and be rich for the rest of her life. Luckily, we have never had to live in a cardboard box, but we know why we are together and it has nothing to do with social class.

I also want to talk about cultural diversity. There are many different cultures represented in the United States of America. I think it’s wonderful that peoples from all over the globe can live together, work together, go to school together, and even go to church together. Culture doesn't necessarily have to have anything to do with religion or belief systems. Sometimes they go together but not necessarily. It’s just important for you kids to realize that people are not bad because they are different from you. It seems to be human nature to think that anything different is bad in some way. This is not the case. If it was, how would we learn anything new or why would we take vacations to other states or other countries? Our lives would be terribly boring. I am so glad that we are about to worship God and celebrate holidays and celebrate traditions however we see fit as long as we aren't hurting others of course. I know you are good kids but just remember to celebrate differences instead of make them a dividing wedge to drive people apart. 

Just some things I’ve been thinking about. I love you guys.