We are in this together… (really?)

As if we have become a new culture, we now must end every TV commercial or newscast with the phrase “we are in this together”.  Very sweet and thoughtful.  But if COVID-19 has made one thing abundantly clear in the world is that class differences hits people in different ways.  In the epicenter of the pandemic, New York City, there were reports that many NY residents fled to their summer “cottages” or to their Florida estates.

But even in our daily walks in our 33156 zipcode (Pinecrest), we see the estates, or as a friend of us calls them, the compounds.  Huge states with multiple rooms, on 5 acre lots with tennis courts, swimming pools and gardens that can easily compete with some major botanical gardens or state parks.  Our delight is just to walk by and admire the beauty visible from the street.  I can only imagine what goes on behind the fences or even deeper behind those walls.  

After being mesmerized for a few minutes as we walk in front of every estate, our only distraction is to get away from a passing truck or a pickup truck with a trailer.  Probably three of every four vehicles driving by are the folks that tend to the estate owners.  Many have ads on their vehicles that tell whether they are tending to their private swimming pools or manicuring gardens or taking care of sprinkler systems.  Those few that do not have ads on their vans are private citizens that when you see them stepping out of their vehicles to punch in the security codes of the driveway gates, are usually dressed in maid outfits or nurses’ aides visiting some of their clients.

This pandemic has certainly been an eye opener to all that may have been in denial.  We might be one country but there are two major distinct groups in America.  Those that rule and have most and those that serve the other group or barely get by while waiting for handouts.  Don’t tell me we are in this together.  Every socioeconomic group its on its own and each will pay a different price.  We can all shelter in place during this period but if you give me a choice, I’d much rather shelter in place in a 5 acre estate with enough space for a running track around your private lake with enough sports facilities to keep an high school entertained.  Instead, most of the service class has been deemed ‘essentials’ and now they don’t even have the choice of staying in their small spaces because they have to keep going to keep our lawns manicured, our pools cleaned, our supermarket shelves stocked and our hospitals fully staffed.

We are not all in this together.  Let’s don’t fool ourselves.  It’s a nice thought for those who have the time to think about it and talk about it.  But those that are busy keeping us going, don’t have the time or energy to realize how different it is for those that they serve.  There is always the hope that as things continue to change under COVID-19, appreciation for the services of the working classes will start being a factor of life in this United States of America.