So our guy lost the election. Why shouldn't those of us on the coasts feel superior? We eat better, travel more, dress better, watch cooler movies, earn better salaries, meet more interesting people, listen to better music and know more about what's going on in the world.
Ted Rall
Confessions of a Cultural Elitist
Yes, they probably also have higher rates of suicide and failed marriages. I'm willing to be they also have many more trips to something called a "Psychotherapist," where they spend oodles of money to learn that everything bad in the world is their parents' fault and that, after years of therapy, they can learn that, really, they are very "angry" at their parents.
Furthermore, they think culture has to do with the ethnic restaraunts they visit, that money really can buy you love, and that happiness is defined by the amount of material goods one manages to accumulate during one's life. Their city-bound communities are like fortresses of intellectual escapism and many of these so-called "elites" are clearly educated beyond their intelligence.
Mainstream America rejects the demands of these idiotic elitists for exactly the same reasons that most of the inhabitants of the original thirteen colonies rejected the demands of the English nobles before the start of the American Revolution... We don't need the society of the clueless and misinformed telling us how to live our lives.
Our modern-day elites whine and moan over the fact that they pay more taxes but have less say now in our government than ever, but WE are the ones who send our sons and daughters off to defend their shallow lives. In the end, people like Rall can console themselves with the material things which they've surrounded themselves with and pretend to stand above the fray, but those of us with a even a tiny modicum of common sense know better.
We work hard every day... We tuck our children into bed after hugs and kisses goodnight... We achieve meaningful things every day, understanding that anything of lasting value must center on faith and family, not goods and services.
So, while the elites think they must suffer our ignorance, the truth is that we tolerate theirs, knowing that this is the price of living in a free society. Do they elites really know more about what is going on in the world? Perhaps... But they have no clue what is going on right here in their own country.
God bless America!
David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - SFC Ski
A recurring theme among the anti-Bush crowd is the idea that those who voted for him are somehow less informed than they are. It is as though they believe heartland is under some sort of press blackout, without internet access as well. Some of these "elites" seem to think everyone who voted for Pres. Bush is too stupid to know what the truth is and has to be shown the truth.
2 - RJ
I will repeat:
Those without even a high school diploma voted for Kerry.
Those with post-grad degrees voted for Kerry.
Everyone else voted for Bush.
In other words, a thin crust of elites supported Kerry, and they were follwed by mindless hordes of the impoverished and illiterate.
(And everyone else voted for Bush...)
3 - boomcrashbaby
Yes, they also have higher rates of suicide, failed marriages, and crime
Wrong, David.
Bible Belt leads in divorces
South's murder rate leads the nation.
During 1990-1994, a total of 154,444 persons committed suicide in the United States; 15% of suicides occurred in the Northeast, 22% in the Midwest, 25% in the West, and 37% in the South. source.
Note that the highest number 37% comes from the South. And if you go to the link and read about the suicides, you will see that the people who commit the most suicides in the West are Native Americans or Alaskan natives and abuse of alcohol was a major factor.
Gosh, three errors and I haven't even made it past your first sentence here David. How fitting you put an Ann Coulter book on this page.
4 - David Flanagan
Boom,
You need to read the WHOLE report, not just the first paragraph. Here is what the report goes on to say:
And the report does not give specifics regarding suburbs or countryside vs. city. Those are numbers that would be more telling to me, than a generic "West" vs "South" vs. "Northest," etc.
If you have information like that, I'd like to see it.
David
5 - boomcrashbaby
um, David, I did read it all. The line you quote talks about adjusted suicide rates per the population. That would make the west the highest because the west has more people.
It said there were more suicides in the South. Then when it breaks it down by state, 10 of the 13 states with the highest rates are in the west. That is because of the number of people in states like Wyoming, Arizona or Idaho, etc. There aren't many people there, so one person killing themselves there will lead to a higher percentage of suicides in that state than one person in California killing him/her self.
6 - boomcrashbaby
I said: That would make the west the highest because the west has more people.
correction: that would make the west highest because of the lack of population in many western/midwestern states.
7 - boomcrashbaby
percentage wise, the west leads, but the actual number of people taking their lives, the south leads.
8 - Rich
Lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offence. Lying about the evidence for a war that has killed thousands is a solid defence strategy. What's to whine about?
As to IQ and voting habits, Republicans can draw some comfort from the fact that the average IQ of their voters (91) doesn't quite fall within the range considered to be retarded (75-85).
9 - Hal Pawluk
You missed the part, David, where Rail says:
The rest of your diatribe is the standard Rightie script that has been used to sell a lie.The elites today are Wall Streeters and the "heartland" business owners, who do indeed sip latte throughout the red states.
And they are Republicans.
Who somehow have managed to convince the people they have de-industrialized to vote for them.
Incredible how easy it is to make them jump with two words: 'abortion' and 'gay.'
What a country.
10 - boomcrashbaby
It is funny how Kerry was portrayed as a Northeastern elite, out of touch with the common man, when Bush was born in Connecticut, was born into wealth, went to a prestigous Northeastern school, and lived a life of priviledge. The perfect example of a Northeastern elite.
Sink a few million into a farm in Texas, and you are in touch with the common man........
11 - urthshu
Com on...just a little further, guys. The next stage is 'acceptance'. Then you can quite your collective sulk and put your game faces back on.
12 - Hal Pawluk
Your consistently substantive contributions are always appreciated, urthshu.
13 - urthshu
Thank you thank you. I'm here all week. Don't forget to tip the waitress.
14 - boomcrashbaby
The next stage is 'acceptance'.
Actually, if I take a cue from conservatives, the next step is tolerance, and I can fight that and I never have to accept.
15 - Jim Carruthers
Is that because you insist on being clueless and misinformed everyday of your life?
It really appalls me that so many people in the States insist on doing everything they can to making the world a worse place, just because they can. They piss on your doorstep just because they think they can.
What Flannelman advocates is nothing more than rule by the ignorant, brutal, illiterate, retrograde mob.
16 - Jim Carruthers
And we drive truck bombs of fertilizer in front of the goddamn gummit daycare centres, and shoot at the jebus killers, and make sure our robes and pointy hats are snowy white.
17 - Jim Carruthers
Looking at this, it is one of the most succinct summations of the principles of Communism I've read in some time, worthy of the Reader's Digest version of the speeches of Fidel Castro or Ho Chi Ming.
In fact, it will make a great multiple choice question in future pop quizzes. Who said the above:
a) Karl Marx
b) Mao Tse Tung
c) Vladamir Lenin
d) none of the above
18 - Jim Carruthers
I've been so inspired by Comrade Flanagan's inspiration words that I've forwarded them to every Marxist-Lennonist, Shiningtime Stationist group I can think of. David Flanagan is a true communist inspriration who brings communist political philosophy into the 21st century via the USA.
19 - Jim Carruthers
Man, if that David Flanagan was any more Communist, he'd be collectivizing Ann Coulter up her pooper while Bill O'Reilly shakes his fist at his ex-gf.
20 - urthshu
bcb-
Tolerance. I'll take that. Its a start.
21 - boomcrashbaby
yeah, well the right will get it, when it gives it.
22 - David Flanagan
Boom,
Actually, I'm not sure how you can use these statistics to show that the cultural elites, which is the topic of this post, have higher or lower rates of suicide, etc, than the regular population.
The fact is, I can't really show you statistics either. The purpose of this post was just a response to the ignorance of Rall that he could equate "the meaning of life" with fine dining, movies, and clothes and then still accuse the rest of the country of not knowing about "what is going on in the world."
Who knows, maybe the cultural elites do know more about what is going on in the world, but they have no CLUE about what is going on in their own country. Their are not even sensitive to, much less competent with, their own culture!
Thanks,
David
23 - David Flanagan
Jim,
The whole "faith and family" message runs counter to communism. Communists are not big on religion, the state is their god. And family is defined by, and run by the state as well.
Which sounds more like what liberals want, doesn't it? Perhaps, to borrow a Freudian term, there is a bit of transference going on here?
I would recommend you talk to your therapist about this when you see them next. This could be a breakthrough moment for you.
Good luck.
David
24 - David Flanagan
Rich,
You too should pay closer attention to the information that you use. The link you give us in your short but shallow comment has this to say of your data:
And, if you knew anything at all about statistics, you'd know that you can't take the STATE that votes for a person and then just assume that the whole state's IQ rating should be counted for or against a particular candidate. The best you could likely do is count IQ on a county-by-county basis rather than a state-by-state to get a truer comparison.
Obviously my rant above has little or no chance of ever being verified in terms of my claim that divorce etc., are all higher for cultural elites. Actually, I would imagine that crime for this group should be far lower considering that people like Michael Moore surround themselves with body guards and generally hire their own security.
Thanks,
David
25 - boomcrashbaby
The fact is, I can't really show you statistics either.
I know, but you just threw that misinformation out there. Thank you for rewording your original blog.
maybe the cultural elites do know more about what is going on in the world, but they have no CLUE about what is going on in their own country.
This is true. The fact that so much of this country wants the government to endorse their religion did catch the intellectuals offguard.