The Only Class That Matters
By Daniel Miessler on November 1st, 2009: Tagged as Culture | Philosophy | Politics
To have “class” means different things to different people. Some think it means having money. Others think it means being able to identify and procure expensive, hard to attain things. Another lot think it means appreciating obscure types of art or music.
The key to the word’s meaning, however, always hinges on the concept of refinement or advancement. It means you lack it (class) until you mature into a certain understanding of the world. And with that in focus I’ve come upon my own definition of class.
The true sign of class is caring personally about the suffering of the poor, uneducated, and misfortunate.
Many people know a lot about wine, cars, or maybe have an extensive art collection about which they could speak for hours. But if a man is able to turn his head in apathetic disregard–or even disgust–when looking upon a starving person on the street, he has revealed his true and ugly nature.
For me it’s that simple to group people: those who care about the suffering of others, and those who do not. There are many definitions of class, but this one is the only one that matters. ::