What makes someone an elitist (in the USA)?”
An accusation by those who are themselves elitists but are pretending not to be, as a means of deflecting attention from themselves and scoring political points? . From Wikipedia comes this definition “Elitism is the belief or attitude that those individuals who are considered members of the elite — a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities, intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most weight; whose views and/or actions are most likely to be constructive to society as a whole; or whose extraordinary skills, abilities or wisdom render them especially fit to govern.” . By this definition, we do select our leaders because the have some outstanding personal abilities or attributes that make us think they are best able to do the job. Having intellect, training and experience are
I keep hearing complaints about elitists, which seem to refer mostly to Democrats for some reason. Some of the things I have seen listed as elitist in this country include: Speaking a second language Using words with more than 2 syllables Windsurfing Liking sushi Having a college education None of these are what I would call elitist. I think of elitists as being old money people who own haute couture and a personal jet, attended a private boarding school, have a live-in chef and valet, and talk down their noses at the lower classes. “Elite” (as opposed to “elitist”) to me refers to the very best, like an elite military force.
