Relativity

Ever since school started, I've been thinking a lot about life in general. For some reason, one specific concept really struck me, obvious as it is: relativity. Albert Einstein once said, "when you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity."
   
Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with anything. Well, let's first put it into perspective of today's world. Say an individual is born into a family in poverty- little to no income, unstable jobs, scarce food, and a house you could barely call a roof over your head. This particular individual undoubtedly starts off life with a huge list of problems, before he or she even learns how to pronounce "mommy." Growing up, this individual will presume that the world is out to get them- and soon enough, they will begin to despise those who have it better.

Let's shift gears and look at it a different way. Say an individual is born into an extremely wealthy family- given anything and everything desirable. Growing up, this individual will take most nearly everything for granted, and when things don't go their way, rage ensues. Regardless, one could assume that this individual has a better life than the previously mentioned. But similar to yet also different from the poor, the rich will begin to despise those in poverty, seeing them as the unfortunate parasites of society.

And this is essentially how social classes are established. Whether it be in society as a whole or in your school, people are categorized based on circumstances that aren't necessarily in their control. The poor couldn't have controlled what conditions they were born into, and likewise, the rich couldn't have done it either. People fail to recognize this, and so the rich and poor see each other as the crooks of society. This kind of mentality is what creates the impassable gap between wealth and poverty.

Looking at society in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, social status seems to be a very important factor in everyones lives. People are constantly attending social events whether they like to or not, just to climb the ladder. As The Great Gatsby took place in a time where people intentionally drew lines to categorize themselves; today, this is unintentionally done, whether we wish to or not.

So what does this have to do with relativity? Well, it's quite simple. Relative to poor people, rich are corrupt. Relative to rich people, poor are corrupt. People fail to realize that we are all on the same side- the side of humanity. No matter our differences, no one is out to get anyone else. The world hits us all in different areas, but also in the same way. Social classes are all in our minds, whether we admit to it or not. It's important to acknowledge that experiences in life are all relative. What may seem to you like an insignificant event can be extraordinarily significant for someone else, and vice versa.

When Einstein developed his theory of relativity, I don't think he was just talking about physics. We all have different circumstances and problems in our lives- but at the end of the day, we're all just human. Things may seem worse for a particular individual, but we all live on the same Earth- the problem isn't fixing each other, it's understanding each other. Maybe then we'll have a world where more people are free to express themselves, brilliantly like this guy: