Inequalities Created by Privilege - Essay Example

Some inequalities created by privilege are too big to be defended rationally and in most cases, the privileged members of society focus on maintaining their privilege at the expense of other members of the society (Niebuhr 117). 

A reading culture was developed in me at an early age. I did a lot of reading as a child, sometimes for two to three hours a day, and this habit persisted in my adulthood. Even though I did not notice it, my reading which had been encouraged by my parents gave me a great advantage over other children who were the same age as I was. This large amount of reading was critical in enhancing my abilities to write and read which, is a privilege that is not available to all children.

My family also had homemade meals together almost every day of the week, with appropriate settings that were done by my mother. Growing up, I hated the idea of being forced to clean up before taking a seat at the dinner table. Eventually, I understood that these meals and bonding with my family provided me a chance to learn good manners, acquire communication skills, and have the capacity to discuss and disagree without being disrespectful.

I also traveled a lot as I grew up as a result of the job my parents did. Even though sometimes I missed my friends and people that I was familiar with, I still got a chance to visit a lot of places and almost all the states in the country. I also got the chance to travel to Canada, the United Kingdom, and Mexico where I met and interacted with many different people from diverse backgrounds. I was able to take hikes in the Grand Canyon, go kayaking among the sea lions while we were visiting Northern California, and visit various national monuments that are in Washington DC. Even though most of the trips that were taken by my family were within the United States, I still had a privilege that most of the children do not have as they do not travel as much as I did.

Most of the children I grew up with considered my life as being privileged and it usually offended me when they mentioned this to me. My family was not rich and we were not associated with any typical indicators of wealth such as luxury cars and palatial homes. Even the neighborhoods that we lived in as I was growing up were not affluent but were nice and I had a chance to get things that are not accessible to everyone such as piano lessons and accessibility to reading materials. If I was not privileged, then I would not have got a chance to develop my reading and writing proficiency as much as well as the ability to express myself even to people I am not familiar with. My privileges growing up have allowed me to have good health and college education that will make my life better.