the place card
October 19
As we role played in class, I could not help but to think of musical chairs. but, there is a problem, musical chairs portrays people changing roles and exchanging seats, some people being kicked out if they do not move quickly enough. This, however, is not at all the way the economy or social standings play out in the real world. Rather than a world of musical chairs, we live in one of specially selected chairs with place cards, and with the “important” guests up at the front or near the center of the room, while those you don’t know what to do with are stuck in the back near the kitchen or restrooms.
This is certainly the only way to effectively run a large dinner party, but should not be a way of life for the average American. It is through hard work that one is able to attain a chair in musical chairs; one must be quick and pay attentions to their surroundings. This is not at all what is required of a dinner party with place cards. One may show up late or be rude. All the person has to do is be friends or relatives of the right people. This is something we associate with the “Old World” and indeed embodies none of the “New World” ideas we as Americans hold so dear.
