It's no secret that Downton Abbey is like crack for a lot of people. If you've never seen the show, it's a serial period drama about a family and its servants that occupy an estate in the English countryside in the early 1900's. It's set in the historical context of the time before and after the first World War, and importantly, during the time that so much of the accepted social protocol and hierarchy was challenged. It's that transition that I find so fascinating. The series has really chronicled the changes in terms of socioeconomic classes, the role of women in society (and also interestingly the evolution of their clothing), the integration of foreigners, the impact of socialism... it's completely fascinating to me.
The series has for some time danced around the inevitability of change, especially as it relates to the aristocrats and their relationship with the folks "down stairs." They cemented this with the elevation of one character in particular who started as a driver and eventually marries one of the daughters. An Irishman, he believes strongly in a balance of socialism and capitalism, and while he is a part of "the system," even he can't be persuaded to take up the pure cause of the working class.
While the drama of the show will run its course in a glorious exposition of fiction, we all know what happens to the aristocracy. Over time they lose their influence and role in government. The show has characters who willingly participate in the custom and tradition of it all from both sides, and those who question it live up and down stairs as well. In the most recent episode, one character just spells it out: There comes a point where custom just gets in the way if you become a slave to it. Imagine that in the context of getting dressed up in a tux every night for dinner.
Indeed, progress has many casualties, though there is a certain amount of greater good that eventually works itself out. The proud United States has a great deal of despicable behavior in its past, but if we ever needed a reason to thump our chests over something, it's our ability to evolve. We've been fighting for civil rights since the Declaration of Independence was signed. That world where black people were slaves and women couldn't vote isn't all that long ago in the bigger context of recorded history. It's not "all good," but what progress we've made, especially in the last 50 years. I'm reminded of this as same-sex marriage bans fall, one state at a time.
I suppose my point is that it's hard to say where we'll end up. Wealth distribution leaning to the smaller, higher percentile might be a thing, but clearly the other voices are never going to respect people just for bank accounts. These are interesting times.
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