The line you wait in

In a recent trip to Honolulu, I personally experienced the different treatment based on class,

the fare class.

As a savvy traveler, I shop for the cheapest flight and buy non-refundable tickets. I therefore do not mind to be put in the last for standby. However, this class-differentiating treatment is done by no else, but the TSA, a US Federal government agency. They clearly state, at the entrance of the HNL, if you have a first class ticket, or belong to an elite frequent flyer program, you're entitled to cut in the long security line: enjoying the same previlige as the pilots and crew members.

I admit that the world is not equal and money talks. As someone put it, we've seen it in Disney World, what's wrong with that? The problem is, this is done by our government and I wasn't taxed any less for this "special treatment". On top of that, this is something no politian would dare to vote for but instead, leaves to the secretary of DHS to decide, which says something about the problem.

Enjoy the essay "The Waiting Game" from the Time magazine by Steve Rushin:

"Depending on whom you believe, the average American will, over a lifetime, wait in lines for two years (says National Public Radio) or five years (according to customer-loyalty expert Nick Wreden, whose post-office branch you might want to avoid).

The crucial word is average, as wealthy Americans routinely avoid lines altogether. Once the most democratic of institutions, lines are rapidly becoming the exclusive province of suckers. Poor suckers, mostly."