Let me get this out of the way out front: by every measure, people are free to consider me part of the "elite." My wife and I make substantial income, live in a nice house, buying an even nicer one, drive nice cars, hold good jobs with pensions and health care paid for, are overeducated, hold positions of respect and power within our communities, etc., etc. Hell, we even live near Washington, D.C., home field for the elite.
But you damn sure better never call me an "elitist."
Elitism, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, is the following:
The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.
That ain't me. And neither is it Barack Obama.
- wmtriallawyer's diary :: ::
I don't have any perceived superiority. I don't believe in favored treatment just because of my status. I feel damn lucky to be where I am. I work hard, just like lots of Americans. But not nearly as hard as some. Not nearly as hard, for instance, as the South Asian guy who runs my local 7-11 where I pick up my morning coffee. He's there every stinkin' day, managing that place, early morning to late evening. I once saw him in the grocery store with his FIVE small boys. I've gained a ton of respect for that man.
And I'm sure if Barack Obama met him, he would have a ton of respect too. Because Obama worked with folks like him in his community organizing days, when he didn't have to. Because Obama was raised by a single mom, without any particular inherent advantage, and received top notch schooling to get ahead. Because Obama personifies the damn American dream...that given an equal shot, we all can get ahead.
And let's not kid ourselves. That's what the American Dream is. Not "work hard, and you'll get ahead." I know plenty of people that work their asses off -- friends of mine -- and they can't get ahead. No, the dream is to have an equal shot to get ahead, and you too can make it.
And that equal shot is not forthcoming. And damn right people are bitter about it.
You want elitism? Try being married to an heiress to a beer distribution fortune and being stuck in the most exclusive club on earth inside the beltway for the past twenty years. THAT'S elitism.
You want elitism? Try making $109 million over the past six years and running for President by virtue of the fact that your husband has already been President. THAT'S elitism.
You want elitism? Try being a pundit that been ensconsed inside the ultimate insider world of Washington politics, and then poo-pooing telling the truth about the mood in the countryside as being "condescending." THAT'S elitism.
I have a news flash for all these elites...
YOU ARE PROJECTING.
You are projecting the fact that you are elitist yourself, knowing full well YOU are the ones out of touch with America. I mean, do you seriously want us to believe that the American public isn't pissed and bitter with our government when the public approval of all of our branches of government is at all time lows? Do you really want us to believe that the "resilient" American public is walking around with smiles on their faces thinking "happy days are here again"?
Of course, you, as the elite, are so far from a home foreclosure, a job loss, or taking your kids to Mickey Ds to feed your family that you would even know what it is like to be a "real American."
It reminds me recently of a party I had at my house, where my father-in-law, in his prime earning years and quite comfortable, was shocked to learn that two friends of mine in their early to mid-thirties, who work hard in service industries, had no 401ks, IRAs, or even benefits like health care. It was just assumed that they would. I knew they didn't, like a lot of my friends. But that's the benefit of real world "experience" beyond one's own bubble. And it's time for Washington to wake up.
Simply put, Obama's words were only condescending if you are an elitist.
To the rest of America, they are the TRUTH.
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