Living Within Stratification

      Social stratification is the division of people into groups where there are large differences between wealth, power, and prestige. Class, gender, age, and ethnicity also play a role in social division. The way I see it, these divisions cause inequality because if there was no division, then we would all be equal but sadly there is a division. People of the upper class are the wealthy people who we see driving the most expensive cars, wearing the most expensive clothes, and living in the biggest house by the beach or own their own private property. People of the middle class are not as wealthy as the upper class but they are people who have a job, a decent house in a good neighborhood, a nice car, and have just enough money to survive. For the lower class people, they don't have as much as the middle class. They are probably the ones to live in a bad neighborhood and who may have difficulty getting a job that pays a decent amount of money because they probably didn't have the privilege of getting an education so that they can get a decent job and not live in poverty. This is where inequality takes place. Majority of the upper class ignore people or things that are below them. “For decades, surveys have shown that upper-income Americans don’t give away as much of their money as they might and are particularly undistinguished as givers when compared with the poor, who are strikingly generous. A number of other studies have shown that lower-income Americans give proportionally more of their incomes to charity than do upper-income Americans”- New York Times

(http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22FOB-wwln-t.html). I really don't understand why majority of the upper class refuse to use their money for a good cause like donating to charity. Instead they spend it on nice and expensive things. No, I'm not saying that they should give all their money away to the poor but at least give them a little of what you have. Maybe then some of them can gain respect. It’s sad how people who barely have a thing give away more money than the people who have more than they can manage.

   When you have wealth and power, don't abuse it because it can all go away as fast as a lightning strike. If you were rude and obnoxious when you have power it isn't good because when you lose your power, you can lose your wealth and when you lose your wealth you still won't have prestige. Whereas if you were nice and didn't abuse your power, when push comes to shove at least you will still have the respect and honor for being a good person. All I am saying is that it is not good to ignore and treat people differently based on their class and how wealthy and powerful they are. At the end of the day, we are all humans and we all need a hand to make it through life without the ignorance of people who think they are better than everyone else just because they have better advantages.