On being an elitist

Suffice it to say, all my life I have been called an elitist. I have been aware of such tendencies from an early age - and have tried my best to blur in with the masses. But try as I might, every once in a while I say and do things that lay bare all my efforts at being a card carrying member of the proletariat. (This is when I feel like saying: can't help it, I was born this way!)

However, of late I am finding many many good reasons to finally come out as an elitist and be comfortable being one. I want to take ownership of the term 'elitist' and wear it as a badge of honor rather than carry it as a burden of shame. And in taking ownership I think its critical that I define its semantics rather than let it fall in the hands of unmitigated fools.

Who an elitist is:
1. Someone who believes in equal rights and equal opportunities for everybody.
2. Someone who believes that hard work and diligence should be rewarded while lazy inefficiency and incompetence should be looked down upon.
3. Someone who recognizes that even with equal opportunities, the system is often heavily biased against some sections of society making it difficult for them to succeed.
4. Someone who believes that the wealthy and the successful owe it to society and themselves to give back to those sections of society where hard work and merit is not enough to be successful.
5. Someone who makes no excuses for stupidity - period.
6. Someone who discriminates based on a person's achievement and outlook - how good are they at what they do, what initiatives do they take in life, how positive are they
7. Someone who respects human labor and human capital - but detests lack of self improvement (the self can be improved in many many ways).
8. Someone who believes that wealth has to be created through creation of knowledge, services or tangible products - not speculative abracadabra.
9. Someone who roots for the underdog.

Who an elitist is not:
1. Someone who dismisses or discriminates against individuals simply based on their race, creed (unless stupidity is a creed), caste, sexual orientation, gender, class - or any other visible or perceived identifier that they are not directly responsible for. (I exclude religion - because it is a lifestyle choice - champion a religion at your own risk).
2. Someone who believes that public policy on complex issues such as the environment, civil rights and human conflict should be decided on the whims of the "common man," instead of involving scientists, engineers, soldiers and historians.
3. Someone who believes in a dictatorship - even benevolent ones.
4. Someone who cannot distinguish between a democracy and a democratic republic.

I hold Joe the Plumber and his ilk in utter disdain. It is a tragedy when voices like Rush Limbaugh, Amy Goodman, mislead governors and Hugo Chavez start dominating the air waves. I do not think every individual should have the same quality of life (excepting for equal access to health care, maybe) irrespective of how much effort they have put into self improvement and hard work. The current crisis to a large extent has been created by fools who were spending way more than they should have and had not the means or the ability to discern. Society lied to them when they told them they were just as good as their neighbors who put years of hard work in professional or vocational preparation and earned their homes and their lives. Saying that everybody is equal is telling a terrible lie - even though it may create the warm and cozy feeling of inclusiveness. Unfortunately we are all paying for their stupidity and the unfortunate lies now - and we should call it so. I detest liars - who tried to make money out of people's vulnerabilities and their desires.

There you go I am an elitist - and I dare you to be one!