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I’ve been listening to the coverage to the Democratic race leading into the Indiana and North Carolina Primaries and I’ve been struck by this issue of “elitist” status being a pejorative, or a reason to vote against someone. For national office. An office dealing with life-and-death issues and trillions of our dollars. We don’t want someone with a top-flight education and experience in that position.
Really?????
You know what this reminds me of? It reminds me of growing up in a neighborhood where being smart wasn’t “cool”. I know there are lots of places where that pathological mentality pervades in this town, and I know firsthand what its like to be targeted for being “smart” or “elite”. I also know how disastrous that mode of thinking is for the communities who fall prey to it.
I was terrified to let the guys on my street, my football teams or in my school know I liked learning and did well on my SAT’s. But I wondered often what was worse – taking the beating and going on to be a lawyer, or getting along and ending up on a garbage truck (No offense to those who chose that profession – I just didn’t think, it was for me!) and maybe spending time on the streets and in jail? I chose to follow my brain to a better future, and I’ve seen over the years the wisdom of parting ways with friends and fears that would have kept me on that other track.
So, now I hear that Americans don’t want to vote for someone who has busted their hump in a classroom and been rewarded for it in life because Americans want to feel they are just as good as their President. The candidates are now racing to show who’s the most “average”. Are we crazy? Is it really more important for the well-being of the nation – the world – that we choose somebody who doesn’t want to be smarter than us as our leader just so that WE feel better about ourselves?
As an institution, should we in the media not call this the mindset of delusion and self-destruction that it is, or should we be happy enablers? I’ve lived it, and I know what I think.
Another culprit in this is the media. Despite working in the media myself, I think much of the public opinion becomes swayed by the issues that are raised by the media. The concept of the media being the fifth estate has gone to the wrong end of the spectrum. Issues raised are often not the ones that need to be raised. I often watch news broadcasts where the focus is on the trivial instead of the essential and I quickly become sickened by it. Objective news reporting and focusing on issues that matter has taken a back seat to things that don't really matter. It's to the point where I have to watch three national news casts in order to decipher the truth in every story.
A presidential candidate should be smarter, better educated and have far more experienced than Johnny "average" American. Our elections are becoming a popularity contest as opposed to choosing the most qualified person for the job. I blame the media for placing the wrong spin on many of today's issues. Whatever happened to the news anchor that we know means business.
The product of our television news comes from the views and decisions made by the producers. In my estimation, they are more concerned with ratings than what the real news should be. Unfortunately, this is the reality of the commercial news market. Like everything, it's all about making money; selling the viewers to the advertisers. This same goal could still be achieved without the fluff if they did real news reporting that actually tells it the way it is. A presidential election is too important to padd it with fluff. Keep up the good work.
May
