Appreciating Your Role in Society

Over the past month or so my wife and I have been watching the first three seasons of Downton Abbey which airs on PBS Masterpiece Theatre. For those of you who are not familiar with the series, it is based in England at an old castle (pictured above). The owners, the Granthams, are of the aristocrat society and live out their lives as the elite. Downton employs many people - including footmen, butlers, housemaids, lady's maids, along with various cook positions - just to name a few.

The household runs very smoothly, for the most part. Each person has their individual role they are expected to fulfill and all employment positions follow a hierarchy. A butler should never be asked to do a footman's job, as the duties are considered to be below a butler's status. Carson, Downton's butler, however, is an outstanding man and does take on some of the lower duties when the family runs into a financial crisis.

One man in particular whom I have made special note of is Matthew Crawley. Matthew is the cousin of Lord Grantham's daughters and he is considered to be a part of the elite, except he likes to do things without the help of servants. His independent thinking puts him at odds, many times, with the folks in his social circles, although he is still sincerely welcomed by all. I like not only his style of bridging the wealthy and less fortunate worlds, but I also fell in love with a statement that was made during a conversation between Lord Grantham and Matthew on the front lawn. This statement, from episode 2 of season 1, is the meat and potatoes of this article:

"We all have different parts to play Matthew, and we must all be allowed to play them."

At first Brian and I were not real sure how to take one another. We worked across from each other and conversation between us was scant. Over time, though, I realized he has a great sense of humor. The perfect common ground to start a work relationship. He too found my sense of humor and from their we began to get to know one another. It wasn't long before we were laughing at jokes and he began to really fit in with everyone else. We all quickly realized what a great guy he is inside, once you get past the effects the accident had on him. We're now Facebook friends and I hold a substantial amount of respect for him, as do all of my co-workers.

One of the great realizations I gleaned from this observation deals with the concept of wealth and how it is interpreted by society in general. Many Americans believe that millionaires - or those who are perceived as rich - drive expensive cars, wear $5,000 watches and sunglasses, eat lobster and steak everyday if they choose, always have a Starbucks in their hand or own million dollar homes. Most of this perception is tied to one's profession. And the amount of money they make determines their level of happiness.

Now I would like to believe that there are many of you out there who do not think in this way. But, I would like to challenge your thinking wherever you are on the social scale.

Have you ever thought of someone lower on the social class scale as being inferior to yourself? 

Maybe it was that fast-food worker at McDonald's, or perhaps the Wal-Mart cashier who seems to be a little slow at the register. Could it be your neighbor who works a factory job sometimes 50 or 60 hours a week just to barely pay the bills?

The challenge is simply to consider this fact: 

People who work in these industries may very well be happier than you, who makes far more money each month and who certainly owns more material possessions. 

I will admit that I have caught myself thinking, "How can any one do a job like that and be happy?" There must be something either wrong with them or they are in some way inferior. The time I have spent with people like Brian has completely changed my mindset about people in general. Now I stop and remind myself,

 "It is absolutely possible that this worker is very happy doing their job and who am I to judge them. They may possess more wealth than I do."

Downton Abbey has made me think differently about social status and its role in society. It is people like Brian who have given me the greater gift of what truly makes people happy.