From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Dec 16 2003 - 17:08:30 GMT
Hi Steve,
> Hi Platt,
>
> >> Scalia said:
> >> "The premise of the First Amendment is that the American people are
> >> neither sheep nor fools, and hence fully capable of considering both the
> >> substance of the speech presented to them and its proximate and ultimate
> >> source."
> >>
> >> dmb says:
> >> I don't buy it. This is clever, because it paints those who would object
> >> to deceptive political ads as elitist snobs who think Americans are
> >> foolish sheep. But the truth is that very few Americans have the time or
> >> inclination to investigate the veracity of political ads - or any kind
> >> of ad.
> >
> > The truth is DMB is one of those elites who thinks Americans are a bunch
> > of ninnies who swallow TV ads hook, line and sinker and are thus easily
> > manipulated by evil corporations and political parties, especially the
> > Republican party.
>
> Steve:
>
> DMB is one of the elite? Wow, that's high praise! I hope you think as much
> of me. ;-)
>
> That anti-intellectual anti-"liberal elite" rhetoric might play well on the
> No-nonsense, Everyman, Fair and Balanced news programs, but not here. It
> is strange to hear you who is so willing to admit that some things are
> better than others swayed by such language. I would expect an intellectual
> such as you to bristle at, for example, Bill O'Reilly's attempts to make
> the average Joe's gut feelings seem just as worthy as the ideas of those
> egg-head "elites" who think too much.
>
> Can you explain why you join many conservatives in using elite as a slur?
> Seriously, I thought as an intellectual armed with the MOQ you would want
> to count yourself among the elite?
I don't know about joining other conservatives, but I join with Pirsig and
American Indians in not considering myself among the elite:
"Of all the topics his slips on Indians covered, freedom was the most
important. Of all the contributions America has made to the history of the
world, the idea of freedom from a social hierarchy has been the greatest.
It was fought for in the American Revolution and confirmed in the Civil
War. To this day it's still the most powerful, compelling ideal holding
the whole nation together." (Lila, chp. 3)
I love Pirsig's description of how intellectuals, who were considered by
the Victorians to be low on the social scale, were suddenly elevated to
the upper tier during the early part of the 20th century. You won't learn
that in your politically correct version of American history being
fostered on students today.
Social snobbery has shifted from who your ancestors were and how much
money you inherited to how much political influence you have (or wished
you had) so you can persuade government to coerce others into doing what
you think is best for them.
Those in this discussion group who fit that description I call "elites."
Regards,
Platt
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