Snobbery, Buffoonery, and the Third Way

I have never warmed to elitism, whether it is religious, political, or social. There is just something about the elitist spirit that is a big turn off for me. People who are born well to do or religious folks who are well educated or those living in well maintained gated communities have no good reason to be elitists. As the old saying goes: “We all put on our jeans one leg at a time.”

Elitism smacks of privilege and an I-am-better-than-you, I-know-more-than-you attitude. There’s a word in the American lexicon for such an attitude: Snobbery.

On the other hand I also disdain the dumb-it-down, black-and-white philosophy of Joe Six Pack and his beer drinking bubbas. People who live in this arena of life always appear so cocksure of their worldview (as if they know something educated folks don’t know). One knows precisely where one stands because the big issues in life are not nuanced but are clearly defined in either/or categories.

There’s a word in the American lexicon for this way of thinking as well: Buffoonery.

Okay, I admit that I may have just offended a lot of people but please know that I’m not suggesting all educated well-to-do people are snobs, nor am I suggesting that all uneducated not-so-well-off people are buffoons. That would be a serious mistake on my part and could quite easily place me squarely in the snobbish category.

Look, there are some really bright people who act like buffoons and there are some really not-so-smart people whose common sense makes up for their lack of raw intelligence—and their good folks to boot. Such is the irony of life in America these days. But there is a dark side to this irony: There are really smart people today who are duping many Americans with a buffoon-like ideology based on an either/or view of reality. Yes elitists think in either/or categories too.

It’s a dumb it down form of political problem solving that appeals to those who cannot or choose not to see complexity and nuance as major components of the hot button issues we face today.

No, life is not black and white and there are no easy answers that are going to solve all the problematic issues of the day: Issues such as immigration, the threat of ISIS, gun control, abortion, and homeland security. Any one of these issues is multidimensional and multifaceted.

For example, we may all agree that immigration is problematic (some more than for others) but the answer to the dilemma is not building literal walls to keep illegals out of the country, nor is it feasible to open up the borders and allow anyone who chooses to walk in and set up shop. Such dualism divides rather than unites us towards the Common Good.
Nor can we resolve the ISIS problem by carpet-bombing them and thus killing innocent civilians. We also cannot ignore the threat ISIS presents the United States by simply sticking our head in the sand. Neither of these dualistic impulses will work.

Shutting down all abortion or defunding Family Planning will not solve the moral dilemma this issue creates for us, nor is lifting all restrictions on abortions an acceptable moral solution. So we have a conundrum that is not going to be solved with either/or thinking. There are just too many factors involved in this issue that must be considered.

We cannot solve gun violence in this country by taking away everyone’s guns (which isn’t likely to happen). We once attempted to deal with alcoholism by making the sale and use of alcohol illegal (which is similar to wanting to take people’s guns from them) and we all know where that led us. Nor can we cave in to second amendment hardliners’ threats and bullying whenever it is suggested that there must be effective gun control legislation passed in this country.

Regardless of where one stands on this issue no one is going to convince me that one’s right to own a gun is more sacred than the protection of innocent lives, especially our school children. Yet the solution may not be as simple as removing all guns from our society anymore than removing any and all restrictions on guns sales and gun use. This kind of dualistic problem solving is self-defeating in my estimation. There is common ground in this debate beyond digging in our heels to protect our preferred position on the issue.

Let us reason together in this season of sound bites and over used political clichés as we find ourselves choosing up sides in each of these hot potato issues. Let us tone down the inflammatory rhetoric often used by politicians and activists alike. These difficult issues are not going to be solved (if ever completely solved) by shouting at our opponents, or resorting to name-calling, or by scapegoating, or by demonizing those who do not share our views or political affiliation. Blaming our social ills on the Liberals or the Conservatives no longer is helpful—it simply does not work. It’s old school that is ineffective.

Let us practice the third way of reasoned debate, of a thoughtful exchange of ideas, and a mature approach to problem solving as we work together for the Common Good. Let us attempt to work on one of our most harmful addictions as a human race: The addiction of being right!