Birds In A Cage

According to the great social thinker, Max Weber, we are all like birds in a cage. The more money and material wealth we have the bigger our cages. Yet, we are trapped in a cage no matter our wealth. The rich person has a large cage to fly around in, but he/she still has to conform to social rules, social control. A rich man that commits murder and is found guilty no matter how rich will still go to prison. In other words, humans are trapped in a cage of formal social control, a control that they themselves had a part in creating.

The more impoverished we are the smaller our cages. Those starving citizens of Sudan cannot fly. There is no room in their cages to even spread their wings. They are trapped by their impoverished condition. The child living in a ghetto is in a cage with little room to move. She/he will have a difficult time transferring to a bigger cage, some do, but many do not. The child that climbs out of the ghetto on talent and/or intelligence is rare. It does not happen near enough. Too often, the cages have been built for them by a racist society and a society of classism.

We hear politicians talk about the cages into which they were born. John Kerry was born into a large cage, so was George W. Bush. They both learned to fly within their cages. Mr. Kerry was able to transfer into an even bigger cage through marriage. He now can fly even longer and farther inside his aviary. George?s father built a nice sized cage for his son and George is also able to fly freely with little restraint.

The majority of the world is content within their cages. Most are able to fly from one branch to another, eat plenty of food, and drink to their hearts? content. The size of their cage is adequate to keep them alive and healthy. Unfortunately, social control has created restraints for different colored birds. This of course is wrong, but social restraints are much harder to loosen than physical restraints.

So, it seems that there are many variables in determining the size of our cages. Race, religion, political affiliations, money, intelligence, and many other factors determine our freedom to fly. In almost every country in the world, the factors helping to decide the size of our cage (freedom) are similar. I was born into a country, America, which at times has made me think I have a fairly large cage to fly around in, but the bars to success cannot be broken without a great deal of work. I have been fortunate inasmuch the bars to my cage have expanded sufficiently for me to fly around enough to get winded, but not enough to make me tired.

If anyone doubts the power of our culture, please rethink your belief. Cultural morality, values, and folkways are more powerful than guns and tanks. We are controlled by the culture we live and believe in, our cage. What size is your cage?