In line with the previous two posts, this one is inspired by NPR. A long-time Republican for Obama interviewed on some show or another (Forum, maybe? Talk of the Nation?) mused on the anti-intellectual sentiment in this country.
This reminds me of an old soviet joke that I'm going to attempt to poorly translate for you:
A packed bus. A thin man in black-rimmed glasses taps a big burly guy on the shoulder and says meekly, "Excuse me, sir, I was wondering if perhaps you'll be exiting at the next stop?"
The burly man looks at him and barks, "What, are you some kind of intellectual?"
"No no," the thin man throws up his arms defensively, "I'm a moron just like you!"
But look, in a communist country that lives by the credo that "every man is equal," I can see the rationale for this sentiment. Members of the Intelligencia think they're better than everyone else. Shit, who do they think they are?
In a free market economy such as ours, where our politicians not only don't think every human being is equal, but don't even believe that every human being deserves the same basic rights (to health care, for instance, or child care), where does the anti-intellectualism come from?
It's the opposite here -- the pinko-commie liberals seem to be the college-educated ones, the ones who value intellect... and the free-market assholes are the ones who frown on it. What sense does that make?
Monday, October 27, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
On Joe Six-Pack and the Soccer Mom:
Dear Average Americans,
I know this question has been brought up over and over by smart-ass people like me, but I still don't get it. I'm still confused. I've been watching the campaigns for the last eight years and continuously, over and over, candidates try to appear like the boy next door, like your average guy.
Please explain this to me, because I think I'm a pretty smart person, and yet somehow, I don't feel qualified to run a country. So anyone that I would qualify as my intellectual equal, probably isn't fit to run the country either. Man do I sound snobby by setting myself up as some kind of above-average person here, but statistically, speaking, I'm college educated and that means I'm automatically in some kind of elite faction. And I don't want people like me running the country. I SURE AS HELL do not want "average" people running the country either.
What I want is someone SMARTER than me. Someone who understands our problems better than I can. Someone who can solve problems that I cannot solve.
Look look, I understand all that hoollabaloo about relating to the constituency. Those stinkin elitist scum can't understand OUR problems (the problems of the little people, the average people), so how can we expect them to even try to solve them?
Well first, I'd like to underscore that most of little people's problems that "elitist scum" can't relate to stem from class standing, rather than intellect. Obviously John Kerry doesn't know diddly-squat about worrying about mortgages. Obviously Al Gore hasn't had to worry about feeding two kids on a single parent's minimum wage salary. But fuck if George Bush knows what it's like to work his way through college. HAHA! So why is it that George Bush is somehow more relatable? Why do you think he knows what it's like to be you?
So no, I really don't buy the relatability argument, sorry! Please explain to me why you like Dummy for President (oh oh, did I just make a double entendre?)
I just anticipated this answer, "well no, we don't want stupid people in power. George Bush is really smart." Well, I don't know if that would make me feel better or worse, guys.
I was listening to "This Amerian Life" on NPR the other day (yah you found me out, I'm an elitist scum). They were trying to explain that the economic crisis stemmed from lack of regulation. Ok, we all heard that. One thing that struck me on TAL, though, was that they said the legislators wanted to leave the economics to the "smart people" -- that the people running wall street are smarter than our legislators, so Congress didn't feel like it was their place to regulate.
What the fuck?? That's EXACTLY the job of Congress as outlined by the Constitution: to regulate commerce! Holy God Damn! Why would we elect people that felt like they were too dumb to do their jobs?
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we should elect people who can REALLY relate to us. This has nothing to do with intellect and everything to do with money. I know PLENTY of super smart, super poor people who would make great legislators and executives. Unfortunately, those are the people that can't actually afford to run for office.
Sincerely,
The Great Tiny
I know this question has been brought up over and over by smart-ass people like me, but I still don't get it. I'm still confused. I've been watching the campaigns for the last eight years and continuously, over and over, candidates try to appear like the boy next door, like your average guy.
Please explain this to me, because I think I'm a pretty smart person, and yet somehow, I don't feel qualified to run a country. So anyone that I would qualify as my intellectual equal, probably isn't fit to run the country either. Man do I sound snobby by setting myself up as some kind of above-average person here, but statistically, speaking, I'm college educated and that means I'm automatically in some kind of elite faction. And I don't want people like me running the country. I SURE AS HELL do not want "average" people running the country either.
What I want is someone SMARTER than me. Someone who understands our problems better than I can. Someone who can solve problems that I cannot solve.
Look look, I understand all that hoollabaloo about relating to the constituency. Those stinkin elitist scum can't understand OUR problems (the problems of the little people, the average people), so how can we expect them to even try to solve them?
Well first, I'd like to underscore that most of little people's problems that "elitist scum" can't relate to stem from class standing, rather than intellect. Obviously John Kerry doesn't know diddly-squat about worrying about mortgages. Obviously Al Gore hasn't had to worry about feeding two kids on a single parent's minimum wage salary. But fuck if George Bush knows what it's like to work his way through college. HAHA! So why is it that George Bush is somehow more relatable? Why do you think he knows what it's like to be you?
So no, I really don't buy the relatability argument, sorry! Please explain to me why you like Dummy for President (oh oh, did I just make a double entendre?)
I just anticipated this answer, "well no, we don't want stupid people in power. George Bush is really smart." Well, I don't know if that would make me feel better or worse, guys.
I was listening to "This Amerian Life" on NPR the other day (yah you found me out, I'm an elitist scum). They were trying to explain that the economic crisis stemmed from lack of regulation. Ok, we all heard that. One thing that struck me on TAL, though, was that they said the legislators wanted to leave the economics to the "smart people" -- that the people running wall street are smarter than our legislators, so Congress didn't feel like it was their place to regulate.
What the fuck?? That's EXACTLY the job of Congress as outlined by the Constitution: to regulate commerce! Holy God Damn! Why would we elect people that felt like they were too dumb to do their jobs?
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we should elect people who can REALLY relate to us. This has nothing to do with intellect and everything to do with money. I know PLENTY of super smart, super poor people who would make great legislators and executives. Unfortunately, those are the people that can't actually afford to run for office.
Sincerely,
The Great Tiny
Monday, October 20, 2008
Hi
So lately, I've been listening to a lot of NPR while trying to figure out what the hell is going on in this country (US). This, in turn, has spurred a lot of thoughts, which I will now start posting here.
So here is my first tiny outrage:
Goodbye McCain, it was nice knowing you
I always thought if McCain was finally nominated for President, it would really give the swing voters something to think about it. Hell, it would've put me in the swing vote category... especially if he was running against Kerry or someone. I was excited to see him kick Mitt Romney's ass, for sure. Mitt Romney is such a tool and it totally broke that "good looking guy always wins" rule! Rudy Giuliani was an interesting contender, but he's also kind of crazy and he was riding the 9/11 thing too much.
Anyway, I was just waiting for him to give Obama or Hillary a run for their money. I'd probably still have voted Democratic, but I'd have thought about it.
Except unfortunately, the McCain running for president is not the same guy that ran during the primaries. If they'd let McCain run as himself, I'd have respected him as a candidate and thought about voting for him, even.
The moment I knew I wouldn't even consider McCain was the moment he changed his mind on torture. I know he actually flipflopped (to use a term that is a favorite among the republicans) on a lot of issues, but that was the one that just blew me away.
Look look, ok I don't think McCain really believes in torture. I'm sure he feels the same about torture as he has always felt, that crazy Swiss lover. Unless of course McCain has been secretly done away with and replaced with a convincing dummy or robot or something. I think McCain is the same person he's always been, but now I have NO idea what his policies will be like. Will he wake up from this bad dream once he's in office? Or will he continue to be pushed around by the Republican Party? The campaign is supposed to tell us that, so now I don't know WHAT to expect of him.
Ok, so after McCain was taken over by Republican mind-worms, I was hoping at the very least this was a temporary solution to the McCain "straight-talk" problem. I thought, "Ok, I won't vote for him, but if he wins, it still won't be the end of the world, because he might still secretly be McCain." I wasn't for him, but I wasn't scared of him either.
All that changed when they chose Palin as the VP nominee. Oh how I miss you, Geraldine Ferraro. (I'm just kidding, I don't know anything about Geraldine Ferraro. She's way before my time).
Here's the thing: I totally think it's in poor taste to bring up a candidate's health issues during the campaign. Good health was never a prerequisite for the presidency. Wasn't it Harrison who had a very averse (fatal) reaction to some ice cream during his inauguration dinner? But the idea of an old man with skin cancer, who or may or may not have brain worms, dying in office and allowing someone like Palin to take over SCARES THE SHIT OUT OF ME!
Congrats, McCain, in a few short months, you've gone from being the only republican I respected, to terrifying me. Bye, McCain, it was nice knowing you.
Sincerely,
The Great Tiny
So here is my first tiny outrage:
Goodbye McCain, it was nice knowing you
I always thought if McCain was finally nominated for President, it would really give the swing voters something to think about it. Hell, it would've put me in the swing vote category... especially if he was running against Kerry or someone. I was excited to see him kick Mitt Romney's ass, for sure. Mitt Romney is such a tool and it totally broke that "good looking guy always wins" rule! Rudy Giuliani was an interesting contender, but he's also kind of crazy and he was riding the 9/11 thing too much.
Anyway, I was just waiting for him to give Obama or Hillary a run for their money. I'd probably still have voted Democratic, but I'd have thought about it.
Except unfortunately, the McCain running for president is not the same guy that ran during the primaries. If they'd let McCain run as himself, I'd have respected him as a candidate and thought about voting for him, even.
The moment I knew I wouldn't even consider McCain was the moment he changed his mind on torture. I know he actually flipflopped (to use a term that is a favorite among the republicans) on a lot of issues, but that was the one that just blew me away.
Look look, ok I don't think McCain really believes in torture. I'm sure he feels the same about torture as he has always felt, that crazy Swiss lover. Unless of course McCain has been secretly done away with and replaced with a convincing dummy or robot or something. I think McCain is the same person he's always been, but now I have NO idea what his policies will be like. Will he wake up from this bad dream once he's in office? Or will he continue to be pushed around by the Republican Party? The campaign is supposed to tell us that, so now I don't know WHAT to expect of him.
Ok, so after McCain was taken over by Republican mind-worms, I was hoping at the very least this was a temporary solution to the McCain "straight-talk" problem. I thought, "Ok, I won't vote for him, but if he wins, it still won't be the end of the world, because he might still secretly be McCain." I wasn't for him, but I wasn't scared of him either.
All that changed when they chose Palin as the VP nominee. Oh how I miss you, Geraldine Ferraro. (I'm just kidding, I don't know anything about Geraldine Ferraro. She's way before my time).
Here's the thing: I totally think it's in poor taste to bring up a candidate's health issues during the campaign. Good health was never a prerequisite for the presidency. Wasn't it Harrison who had a very averse (fatal) reaction to some ice cream during his inauguration dinner? But the idea of an old man with skin cancer, who or may or may not have brain worms, dying in office and allowing someone like Palin to take over SCARES THE SHIT OUT OF ME!
Congrats, McCain, in a few short months, you've gone from being the only republican I respected, to terrifying me. Bye, McCain, it was nice knowing you.
Sincerely,
The Great Tiny
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