Class war again

I once had a job as an operations supervisor in a computer installation.  Back then, the big mainframe computers needed operators to feed them the jobs that got the work done.  We pretty much all operate our own computers these days, but back then we needed specialists.

To be an operations supervisor was to be on the lowest rung of the management ladder.  Even so, part of the job was to treat the operators as children.  I was struck by the fact that these adults, many with children, and maybe even grandchildren of their own, were not considered to be responsible people with the ability to get to work on time and do their jobs without management's stern, watchful eye, aided by the punching of time cards.

In this country, where we deny the existence of social class, there are many strata.  I wonder about the folks at the top, and how they see the rest of us.

We are often told that an educational system that is strong in math and science makes America competitive in the world.  But does the emphasis on math and science to the detriment of art and music programs really reveal an attitude among the upper class that the purpose of public education is to provide them with a competent workforce?  Is the appreciation of the finer things merely for the children of the elite, who have the leisure to enjoy them?  Should the cogs in the machine really be bothering themselves with the higher intellectual pursuits?

I'll admit that I have not studied the super-rich.  They may be a peachy keen bunch who wish us all well.  But people who have more money than Mike Tyson could squander in a lifetime probably experience the world as a place full of people who either work for them or serve them in other capacities.  Do they value our inner lives?  Do they know we have them?  I wonder.