Waiting in line for coffee is a student ritual. No matter how many people are in front of you, caffeine is more important than worrying about lost time.

And this has become such an integrated part of college life that we never stop to think about the act of queuing itself. It’s a very British thing, something we’re known for. Ask any well respected member of English society, and they will always be down for a good old queue. It seems that way here too.

Anyone and everyone is ready to stand in line and look idly from side to side in a trance-like state, clutching a few dollars, ready as ever to make that purchase or post that letter. Queue etiquette is universal. We automatically accept the “first come, first served” principle. Silently and knowingly, we all understand what it means to wait in line. And if the end results are worth it, then no love lost.

In a way, it’s a beautiful example of equality, especially in America. Here we stand together as a “country of immigrants,” everyone welcome, an equal society. And this means we know how to wait our turn.

But, like everything else here, it’s not as simple as it appears on the surface. Springing up across America, and further afield, is the phenomenon of the “priority queue.” Basically, it’s taking the fast lane. This happens in airports, on highways and in theme parks. Paying your way to the front of the line is becoming increasingly popular.

Instead of daydreaming and time-wasting, you can just hand over a few dollars and get what you want right here, right now. In a way, that’s even more American. The land of convenience.

So even the common human act of queuing becomes a part of the market economy. Your time is a commodity, bought and sold. As people, we have come to realize the value of time, and “time is money” is the philosophy of the new world. But this means we leave behind a level of equality and an act that allows us to stop and think for a minute.

The act of queuing itself means you have to stand and take a moment to absorb the passing chaos. But it’s also democratic. There are no rules of segregation, no discrimination; there is just the single ideal of waiting for your turn. But in our innate state, we have exploited this. Now we are entering an age in which Washington lobbyists pay the homeless to queue to see congressmen.

By allowing money to enter the equation, this simple act has ignored morality and ritual. At the end of the day, there’s nothing like a good queue.