As I watch more than my share of political shows and read various analyses of the upcoming Presidential election on assorted political blogs, it is becoming obvious that elitism is going to be a big issue between now and November. With Clinton's last-ditch efforts focusing on casting Obama as an elitist while pretending to be in touch with the "average American," she is foreshadowing what will almost certainly be a key strategy of McCain's campaign once Obama receives the Democratic nomination. It is far from just another political strategy and provides us with a key example of how reason, intelligence, and education are routinely devalued in contemporary American society.In the unfolding political drama, the Democratic candidates are now falling all over themselves to trick the ill-informed voter into thinking they are something they're not. Clinton and Obama are both qualified to be President, so much as anyone can really be said to be qualified. They are also both wealthy, intelligent, well-educated people whose daily lives bear little resemblance to most Americans. I don't see either as elitist, but certainly both are elite.
What bothers me about this whole affair is the idea that anyone in their right mind would want a President who was just like them. A President has an extremely difficult job. Why would we not want someone qualified to do the job? In most every other job, we value intelligence, education, experience, proven leadership, and even evidence of financial success. We aren't seeking an assembly line worker or custodian but a President.
Part of this fascinating phenomenon - wanting a President who is no better than us - is about narcissism. We have a need to believe that nobody, including our President, is better than us. It makes us feel better about ourselves. Another part is about our wholesale acceptance of the myth of equality - equal opportunity is a worthy goal, but equality in terms of ability is an absurdity. Humans differ, and characteristics such as intelligence are normally distributed in the population. When it comes to intellectual ability, equality could not be farther from the truth. But another part, even if it is not a motivating factor, involves a general devaluing of intelligence, education, reason, and the like. We bring those with Presidential aspirations down to our level by overlooking and devaluing their accomplishments.
Denigrating intelligence, education, and reason is bad for all of us. Maybe some people need to combat their feelings of inadequacy in this way, but it harms even then. And what about their children? Level of parental education is a potent predictor of eventual educational achievement by their children and not simply because of the genetic link. It also has to do with environmental effects such as modeling the importance of education.
To be sure, this is a subject that could use additional investigation and discussion. I posted this here rather than on Atheist Revolution because I have found negative attitudes toward intelligence, education, and reason to be far more prevalent in Mississippi than in other places I have lived. What do you think?
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