I don't know about you, but I've had a belly-full of advice and political theory from America's anti-intellectuals. Don't get me wrong, we couldn't get by without them. They build houses, raise our food, fix plumbing, fix our cars when they break. I appreciate all they do, and pay them for it when I need some.
But when it comes to navigating the mind-numbing complexities that come with the job of President of the United States of America, the role of such folks needs to be returned to where it belongs. I don't want a mechanic deciding whether it's a good or bad idea to bomb Iran, or a big rig driver deciding whether or not the FDA should approve or disapproved reproductive services or products for women.
Why don't I want that? Because, that's what we've had for the last seven plus years. Catering to the simple desires and beliefs of simple people have made America and the world anything but simple.
So, the next time one of these well-meaning anti-intellectual, anti-elitist, middle America, salt-of-the-earthers starts ragging on a candidate for being "out of touch" because he/she is "an elitist," give them the full dictionary definition of the term, since they are clearly unfamiliar with the definition -- and likely dictionaries in general:
Elitist: Noun: someone who believes in rule by an elite group;
And what does "elite" mean"?
Elite: an exclusive, carefully selected group or class, usually small, which possesses certain advantages, either of wealth, privilege, education, training, status, political power, etc. One might refer, for example, to the U.S. Marines as an elite force.
Then ask them why is it they would want any thing but an "elite force" to run their country. And while you're at it, you might want to pose another question to them as well.
How did someone like Barack Obama become a member of America's "elite," -- a position they, not he , elevated him to. And how is it that the people these folks respect so much, like George W. Bush, are not members of the same elite group? It can't be money, since the Bush's are wealthy, belong to country clubs, fly in private jets. So it must be something else that makes Obama a member of the "elite," and the Bush's not. Could it be IQ? Could be education? Could it be a wide and deep appreciation of the complexities of life, politics, war, peace, poverty and the environment?
And, on their side, a near total lack thereof?
Is that what separates an "elitist"from "real Americans?"
On second thought, you might not want to pose such a direct challenge to them, at least not while within swinging distance. Those folks are the main reasons we're in Iraq. Because when they can't -- or refuse to even try to, understand something they attack it.
Stephen Pizzo has been published everywhere from The New York Times to Mother Jones magazine. His book, Inside Job: The Looting of America's Savings and Loans, was nominated for a Pulitzer.
The Neoconservatives are just as elitist as the groups on the left. Elites work towards some utopian vision, because they "know better than the rest of us". The author may not have gotten a formal higher education, but he is no less of an elitist for it.
Having other people decide what is best for us is the anti-thesis of liberty and personal responsibility.
by
Tyrant (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 5 comments)
on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 8:41:39 AM
