Don't Be Tone Deaf

There is a stereotype that “commoners” have of aristocrats and elites. We believe that they are out of touch with the needs of the people they are supposed to serve. One example leaps to mind about the French Queen, Marie Antoinette, who when asked about the lack of bread for the people, the French Queen said, “Let them eat cake.” She was beheaded shortly after that pronouncement. 

It’s a great story, except it is not true. 

But we want to believe that story is true because it clearly illustrates how the out-of-touch aristocrat just cannot understand the realities of living as a peasant. Of course, there are parallels to our current political situation. 

Everyone remodels their home now and again, but not everyone puts gold on pretty much everything. Not everyone replaces a bathroom and then posts 24 pictures of it while there is a government shutdown. Not everyone tears down a perfectly functional wing of the White House  to replace it with a gaudy ballroom. And on the day that 42 million Americans lose funding for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) not everyone hosts a roaring ‘20s themed party for the ultra wealthy. 

The irony may be that the iconic Great Gatsby is basically about the excesses and moral emptiness and the social privilege of the 1%. While it isn’t clear where this will go next, the economic inequality does parallel that of Marie Antoinette.