Listening to the radio on my way to work, I flinched in annoyance when I heard then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton reference benefits expressly for the “middle class.” Never having the luxury of financial security myself—as I’ve lived from paycheck to paycheck and I’m a Black woman always fearful of losing my job regardless of the merits of my work—the candidate was not speaking to me.
I think most people see themselves as middle class even if they meet the criteria for what is referred to as “working class” or the “working poor.” Therefore, it makes sense that the public relations teams for those making appeals for votes want their candidates to speak to the largest number of voters. These voters want to be called by name when it comes to policies that may have an impact on their financial and social status.
I just wish that good-hearted smart people would not buy in to the cultural and societal habit of categorizing people into a class or caste system based on arbitrary criteria such as income and social status. I feel better when I hear politicians talk about all the people and how what they champion will benefit everyone who needs help.
In addition to calling out the middle class, most candidates say that they represent all the people when they speak in different venues and in many of their campaign ads. It’s the calling out of the middle class that makes me wish that the constituent message would be more like President Lyndon B. Johnson’s reference to the people as the “Great Society.” This positive outlook for everyone feels better to me than identifying and thus ranking people according to class.
As I write this, I ask myself, “Why does this matter to me?” It matters to me because calling out the middle class is just another way of excluding people who don’t have the requisite income and societal status deemed good enough to be middle class.
In the end, I will support candidates who champion inclusion in their policies and who seek solutions that are helpful and not harmful to any people. We owe it to ourselves and to our country to champion leaders who strive to promote a society for all the people even if they must call out the middle class in their efforts to be elected.
Gwen Dungy 