Quality of Life - Part II

 

There are several key terms in the quality of life description Part I...  and, we will explore these one at at time:

1. Position in life
2. context of culture
3. context of value systems
4. goals
5. expectations
6. standards
7. concerns

Position in Life

Basically this revolves around 4 areas:

• lower class
• middle class
• upper class
• wealthy 1%

Each one of these areas has its pros and cons with which we must come to terms and accept.  And, as our economy grows and inflation continues, one day you could be in the middle class and by the end of the year, find yourself in the lower class.

Another interesting fact is that each one of the classes is again sub-divided into 3 classes of upper, middle, and lower.

And, most of the time, you are born into your class and very seldom are able to extract yourself from your position due to the interaction of forces around you over which you have minimal control.

Context of Culture

This is an interesting category because while it revolves around ethnic groups and race, it too is multi-faceted.

Aside from the ethnic groups in which you may belong, there are also regiligious groups as well as geographical groups such as:  east, west, north, south, midwest, etc.

Each of these cultures are different.  In addition, the cultures of each state are different as well including Alaska and Hawaii.

Context of Value Systems

The basic value systems of the United States of America are those that were embedded in our culture at the time of our independence from Great Britain but over time, those value systems have changed.  They were:

• strength of family
• strength of faith and religion
• honesty and integrity
• hard work and loyalty
• respect and sincerity
• always striving forward
• not counting on the government
• no handouts, no welfare
• sense of community
• self defense but not aggression
• self-reliance

From our beginning of the aristocracy and the poor, we built a very strong and courageous middle class and it was the middle class that built this nation with the money from the wealthy...  those who could not keep up with the growth and progress formed our lower class that the rest of us swore to protect.

TO BE CONTINUED...