Of Elitism

Obama's remarks have now had ample time to be taken apart and analyzed by the press. Most sources I have consulted have come to the same conclusion: Obama is a suit and tie, big-city liberal whose intrinsic elitist tendencies came through. Such a rudimentary conclusion, in my view, is a bit harsh. In fact, as someone who spent high school in rural, small-town Indiana, I can verify most of what Obama said as sadly true. Obama has been derided for his "act of condescension", but I think writers from the NY Times to the New Yorker are guilty of using a detached, overly academic looking glass into rural life. And, in a way, are relying on stereotypes about the rural American.

To understand what I mean, one has to understand how culturally different small towns are from New York City. I genuinely believe that it is impossible for an editorialist from NYC to truly understand middle America. It's for the same reason I question how much a Western anthropologist can understand tribal Samoans. We are indubitably victims of our schemas and preconceived notions, as hard as we try to purge them with objectivity.

That said, these writers are relying on an outdated view of small town Americans, that of the "romanticized yeoman". Jeb works hard on the farm/plant all day and comes home to a small, but sturdy house. He may not be smart, but he feeds his six children and teaches them the essentials about traditional values of God and country.

What the critics don't realize is that this view hasn't been valid for atleast 50 years or so. Economic realities have shaken the foundation of formerly robust small towns based on agriculture and heavy industry. Most jobs have gone abroad and are never coming back. People who do get a four-year degree do not stay at home and move to the cities. After all, that's where the jobs are. What happens is that small towns stagnate and decline. When young people move out, sense of community and hope goes with it.

So 50 years later, Jeb becomes a distraught, broken man who's desperately trying to make ends meet. His kids got educated at college and became journalists, nurses, or professionals. He is all alone and has no stake in the direction his country is heading. Jeb has been forsaken by a country defined by the cultural and economic vitality of its urban areas.

Economic hardship breeds the frustration Obama talked about. Religion is only a temporary salve, and in my opinion is not the panacea that economic well-being is for the middle American. If rural people turned to religion as fervently as they could wouldn't it be rational to expect them to constantly harbor hope, or to be more enlightened? Isn't that the point of religion?

To further my point, enlightened behavior does not include racist or anti-immigrant beliefs. Now, because the nation has disavowed the economic interests of the yeoman, the only political arena he or she can have a say is with social issues. Republicans have done an excellent job of deflecting and de-emphasizing their role in siphoning away jobs from America, while simultaneously positioning themselves as the staunch guardians of "traditional values". By fanning the flames of discontent with issues such as abortion and immigration, they expertly distract from their embrace of globalization and other injurious policies that have led to the loss of Jeb's job at the factory. In addition, the rhetorical style of conservatives and their tendency to think in black and white terms would have appeal to a blue-collar American. It's a strategy that started in the 1960s and has gradually whittled away the traditional base for Democrats.

The good news for Obama is that these comments, though controversial, is only a minor issue. By November, it will be largely forgotten thanks to the small attention spans of American voters. If McCain does make it an issue, Obama can fire back by painting McCain as a flip-flopper who did what was politically expedient to make it out of the Republican primary. He will have ammunition. Although Hillary Clinton has snatched onto the quotes with vigor, I don't think voters ultimately buy her posturing as a God-fearing, gun-toting beer swiller.

Should Obama have said those comments? No, of course not. However, I genuinely believe there is a kernel of truth in the vaguely elitist remark.