Elites

Most people are elitists. They don’t think people who can’t play football should be hired by the 49ers. They expect the winner of American Idol to be able to sing. They certainly think their brain surgeon should have natural dexterity and have spent years getting the education necessary to become an expert. They wouldn’t hire someone who knows nothing about mechanics to fix their car.

So why, when the field is intellectual endeavor, or science, or politics, do they suddenly decide that everybody’s opinion is equal? Why do we want an expert plumber, but a novice legislator? Why do we admire the athletically gifted, but resent the intellectually gifted?

While I am perfectly capable of understanding organic chemistry, or quantum mechanics, or  economics, I don’t have the time (or in the case of economics, the interest) for the study necessary to become an expert in any of those fields. Which means I have to respect the opinions of the people who have put in the time and study to become experts in those fields.

Personally, I want my president to be at least as smart as I am, preferably smarter, and I really don’t care if he, or she, is someone I want to have a beer with (although I have generally found smart people to be excellent drinking companions).

So I guess that makes me an elitist bastard, and it’s nice to have found a number of fellow travelers.

If you think smart shouldn’t be an insult, check out the Carnival of Elitist Bastards.