Today, November 4 is the eve of the election. An article written by one David A. Graham published today in the Atlantic asks “How Is It This Close? Graham echoes a rhetorical question made by Michelle Obama at a recent rally for Kamala Harris to the effect that at least half of the nation’s population are nincompoops. Graham goes on to presenting a list of supposed vices and character flaws of Donald Trump with undisguised wonder how any one other than a mentally retarded or just stupid, depraved human being could possibly vote for Trump. He follows-up with a much shorter, and rather vague, list of Harris’s supposed virtues.
Whether Ms. Obama actually used the word nincompoop in describing Trump voters, it sums up the sentiment she and her ilk have toward the Clinton “basket of deplorables” and the Biden “garbage” who descend to consider voting for Trump. That is the contempt that is shown by the supposed elites for those who do not share their world view, which includes most Americans who are not Ivy Leaguers (or their equivalent — including Harris) is driving a good of part of the middle to vote for Trump. Who likes to be held in contempt?
An article in the Economist, a British publication widely read in English-speaking places, opined that the class divide in the U.S. today is not wealth, race and ethnicity, or rural vs. urban. It is education, and by that he means possessing a college degree. Well, today the value of a college degree, particularly with the de-emphasis on traditional liberal arts in favor “gender and ethnic studies,” sociology, which means, of course, “social justice,” can be suspect. Furthermore, the denigration by the professoriat of American and most of Western history. That includes casting important historical characters like Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson as villains alienates many Americans. Unofficially, and sometimes officially in the context of huge business organizations, the banning so-called ill-defined hate-speech, words, and demanding approved use of use of gender pronouns exposes those who do not publicly accept, non-conformists to fear social shunning. Even some of the hard sciences degrees can be infected by left-wing ideology. One recent study indicates that fewer than fifteen percent of college and university professors lean to the political right, or even the center. Many use their position to expound their political values, and students conform out of fear of bad grades. And many public corporations’ pusillanimous CEOs and boards conform for fear that their stock price will go down for a point of two. The rank and file employees conform out of fear for their jobs.
Education does not, by itself equate with intelligence or real world value sentiments. Many of the most skilled tradesmen and other workers are highly intelligent and productive, but never attended college.
There may be good, or less bad, news. Whichever the way the election tomorrow goes, it is going piss off half the country. But it’s not going to be Armageddon or the Apocalypse. At least I hope not.
