When outsiders opine about the Federal Gov’t and the reporters who cover it, they frequently talk about DC politicians, lobbyists and media as being “In the bubble”. They say that people in DC are concerned with their own little world – DC politics, government policies, procedural minutiae and the like which has nothing to do with what “the American people are concerned about.”
I don’t think this is limited to DC insiders. I think we all live in a bubble – the one that makes up our own little world. We have concerns that are specific to our little geographic area. We share inside jokes with the people around us. We use the same vernacular. We have common references and cultural influences.
Our bubble might include our immediate family. It might include our friends & neighbors. It might include our coworkers. We likely belong to several overlapping bubbles.
In my case, my overlapping bubbles include:
- My neighborhood and neighbors I see regularly.
- My fellow lap swimmers and staff at the pool.
- My tight, small friend group.
- Me and my dogs.
- The Solo community.
I remember when I first started working at a large corporation. I had to constantly ask coworkers what they meant when they tossed out words like CSR, TM, FSM, ERM, QBR and CSA. These were all foreign to me as a newcomer, but quickly became an important part of my lexicon and concerns as an “insider”. At this company, my teams were intently focused on quotas, sales and end of quarter numbers. Our lives revolved around this so much that we scheduled our vacations and personal time off with work milestones and quarter close dates in mind. I’m relieved to be long gone from that bubble.
My point is, of course DC insiders don’t understand normal Americans. Nor do NYC urban elites relate to people who live in small midwestern cities. Rich people can’t fathom the concerns of living paycheck to paycheck. Poor people don’t understand how the wealthy can live so lavishly without sharing.
We are all in the bubble.