Riches Give No Social Guarantee

Not everyone can be hypnotized to see what isn’t there, and there are many things that one cannot purchase. True friendship, social acceptance, and admiration from others are just a few of these things that money cannot buy and that a vulgar amount of money can actually dissuade.   

Vulgar Displays of Riches

There is a great deal said by Americans about the corruption of society by wealth. Vulgar display of riches is seen often enough, but this does not find an entrance into the best society.

Americans without sufficient cause malign their own institutions more than they know. While plutocracy is an evil felt in many directions, the fact remains that it is a thing apart from the people, receiving no honors in its own right and given distrust and dislike as its natural portion. 

The rich who stand as leaders in society are also leaders in public movements of a beneficent character. In matters relating to education, in charitable movements and in the advancement of literature and art, they are prominent. 

Riding to hounds and the possession of racing stables are not their chief pleasures. Pheasant culture, and the periodical shooting of the birds so cultivated, do not occupy their time. Their recreations are of a more intellectual sort.

Anglomania and the snobbery that it implies are to be found in certain circles in America, but they are recognized as an unhealthy growth and are received by the public with a humorous indulgence which is very far away from genuine admiration. — “America,” 1892

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia