Elitism

By John Clayton

Originally Published in the Monocacy Monocle, Volume V, Number 8, August 8, 2008.

Elite: A group or class of persons … enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status.

Elitism: The belief that certain persons … deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority. (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.)

Elitism seems to be all over the news these days as various people are accused of being an elite or of practicing elitism. Locally, the Montgomery County Council wrestles with the issue of large vehicles parked on residential streets. Nationally, the presidential candidates are vying to be folks-just-like-us and not part of the elite, which would not be beneficial to their elections.

The issue in Montgomery County is: Should campers, commercial trade vehicles, and other large vehicles be allowed to park on public streets in or around residential neighborhoods? Public hearings have been held, and there has been discussion of the safety of pedestrians (children in particular) having to walk between large vehicles to cross the street, protecting property values, and fairness to residents who need a place to park large vehicles. There has also been discussion of an underlying bias towards working people who have a trade vehicle that they would like to park close to home. The argument pits the office worker versus the tradesman; the white collars versus the blue collars. As I read in the reports from the hearings, people who couldn’t park their large and possibly commercial vehicles close to their homes accused the others of being biased against blue collar workers, a form of elitism.

The presidential campaigns are sparring over the issue of whether Sen. Barack Obama is just a little too good (read snooty) for the rest of us. Admittedly, there is the air of arugula about him. He is suave, urbane, and from Harvard, and the Republicans are playing the issue skillfully, as is their custom. Obama and his troops, of course, regard this as a canard, but have been careful not to use the word “canard” because it really isn’t one of those regular Joe words that normal Americans use.

You may remember that in the last presidential election, Sen. John Kerry lost ground on elitist charges because he ordered the wrong cheese on his cheese steak at a Philadelphia lunch counter, and then because his windsurfing was perceived as an elitist sport. Kerry quickly geared up and went out into the wilderness to shoot something so as to establish his regular guy bona fides, but nobody really bought it. The beauty of the elitist attack is that it is very hard to counter.

George Bush has thrived on his ability to reinvent himself as a good old boy from Texas, and is never perceived as being part of the elite from which he emerged. The fact that he grew up in privilege, attended a tony New England prep school, and went to Yale and became a member of the Skull and Bones Society (just like John Kerry) didn’t hurt him one bit. The fact that he prefers mountain biking to horseback riding hasn’t detracted at all from his cowboy image. He has profited from being the sort of fellow you would like to have over for a cookout, although I think he’s pretty much spoiled it for future good time cookout politicians.

Here in the UpCounty, we have to face our own perceived elitism. Living out here among all the open land is absolutely wonderful, and we all love it, but it depends on other people living a certain way, or perhaps not living a certain way. For the county to simultaneously have growth and preserve open land means that everyone else has to live more closely together, near commercial centers, and with access to public transportation. It means that people have to deal with each other’s choice of vehicles, parking habits, and free ranging cats. We don’t worry about that stuff out here. Those are down county issues.

Is it elitist to feel that way?