Far from being some sort of egalitarian utopia, America is a nation clearly divided into three very distinct classes. First, there is a large underclass, at best barely able to sustain itself, which is primarily subsidized heavily by the government and its agencies, to which they have the worst housing, the worst crime, the worst health, and the worst schools. In the middle is a huge swath of Americans, which are the hard workers that pay their taxes that play by the rules that work from adulthood through retirement, to which they are considered to be good red-blooded Americans that believe in the American experiment. Finally, there is the smallest group of all, no more than .5% of all Americans, and probably substantially less, these are the true power in America, if not the world, not all care for politics, not all care to be identified, but all have a deep and abiding interest to protect their own, and the rules of the road will make sure to accommodate this need.
These privileged elite are politically connected, but not in the manner in which their alleged party affiliation makes much difference. At the ground level they are connected locally, to which their first line of business is to live in an enclave that affords them special privileges. For instance, it is of prime importance to these people that their safety and their privacy of themselves and their children be second to none. Consequently, within their community there may be their own private security force that will track through cameras vehicles that enter and exit their community. For a certainty, they will know the business of all that come there, whether they are maintenance men, family, friends, business associates or the like. The demeanor of the interaction with these visitors is invariability polite and to the point, data will be gathered, databases will be updated, information will be stored and analyzed. As for the law enforcement, itself, these instruments of the State will be utilized as the citizens of these enclaves best see fit. For a certainty, there will never be instances of the police harassing or interfering with the actual residents of these complexes, any dealings with this particular population will be in accordance to their power and influence and any "cowboy" cop that doesn't recognize this, will be replaced.
The privileged elite have access and massive influence to layers of power, to the law, to government, that the balance of America does not. Those that have the titles of mayor or police chief may or may not be part of these same elite, but all know who pulls the strings, and is the real power behind the curtain. Sometimes a few of these privileged elite must be thrown to the dogs, as scapegoats and sacrificial victims, to sell the illusion that America is a country of laws and justice, whereas it often comes down to bad form, frayed connections, and stupid indiscretions that lowers the boom on them.
If you are very successful and question as to whether you might be part of this select elect, if you don't know that you are, than you aren’t. This is the club of all clubs, there are rules, there are responsibilities, and there is also that knowledge that you are always right, and that the balance of America is your footstool.