"Kid Nation," a new show on CBS, is a reflection of the American society as a whole. The show takes 40 children, ranging in ages from nine to 14, and places them in an abandoned ghost town known as Bonanza City for 40 days. The children must dictate the everyday functions of the town while also maintaining a sense of order. Though many people scoff at the premise of "Kid Nation," the issues surrounding the show are similar to the important issues America faces today.
During each week, the town council members read a journal supposedly written by the preceding pioneers. However, one can safely assume the writers of "Kid Nation" put forth the charged issues focused upon each episode. For example, the town council and its citizens have encountered problems with law and order, religion, politics and pollution.
The children of Bonanza City have responsibilities like preparing meals, keeping order within the town and fetching water from the well. During each episode, there is a town challenge where the different teams compete for various levels of status. The upper class is paid the most and is not required to perform any work, while the merchants are required to operate the stores while being paid second most. The cooks, who are paid on the lower end of the continuum, are in charge of the meals and dishes for each day. Finally, the laborers, who are paid the least, perform the most essential and basic forms of physical labor necessary for town operation.
Blue-collar labor such as refuse collectors, factory workers and truck drivers are looked down upon as necessary but trivial. As a general rule, people tend to judge others based on status, which can take various forms. For example, drug dealers, CEOs and wealthy families may all have the same income level, yet are viewed differently based on connotations surrounding those roles. However, like the writers of "Kid Nation" assert, the amount of income does inherently correlate with one's social status. Ultimately, the question becomes, "Does the upper class really deserve to be paid a largely disproportionate amount of money compared to the lower class?"
Analyzing this one particular aspect of "Kid Nation" provides an opportunity to think critically about America's current social hierarchy and its expectations for each class. Similar to Bonanza City, the real world rewards those being a figurehead of a company. Though being on an executive board is important, the amount of actual work that goes into this type of labor is slim to none. Granted, these people must be properly informed and briefed on the subject, but the reality is assistants and interns are paid to perform the research. Reading reports, forming opinions and expressing them in a thoughtful and coherent manner are the only functions board members are expected to do. The upper class in today's society is paid an exuberant and illegitimate amount of money compared to people performing jobs vital to everyday functions.
Should people who run businesses be paid more than factory workers? Yes. Yet, is the overall distribution of the wealth justified? No. Everyone can theoretically perform blue-collar work whereas running a multi-million dollar business takes a unique skill. Furthermore, upper-class citizens have a greater responsibility than "Average Joe" workers, and should therefore take a more active role within the community. There will always be stratification within a society, but the continued strain and elimination of the middle class in America is increasing and alarming.
"Kid Nation" deals with the important and trying questions society attempts to answer every day. It is unnerving how similarly the children of Bonanza City and America's leaders consider and deal with issues. Like the children of "Kid Nation," America needs to rethink its validity of the distribution of wealth within society.
Write to Travis at tjoneill@bsu.edu
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