Re: Education, Intelligence and the Aristocracy
Noreen Seebacher
12/27/2011 10:13:45 PM
Maybe because the only things most of them value as special is their own wants and desires.
aristocracy
AskAsa
12/27/2011 8:29:53 PM
Good article.
I've wondered for years if it might be possible to fix things from within. For example - why should an executive get a bonus for running a company thats losing money and laying off employees?
Each time I've asked this I'm told they earned the bonus because the company would have done even worse had they not been there.
Things like this have helped to simply destroy the system. As long as we reward greed without taking a look at accomplishment - this will keep perpetuating.
Re: Education, Intelligence and the Aristocracy
Street Smart
12/27/2011 8:18:19 PM
@Broadway, I'm becoming very cynical too, and I completely agree that what seems like dumbing down to us is probably just right for many people.
What I don't get is why education isn't held in higher regard. We are losing ground globally every day! There could never be something like a moon race that would captivate today's America. How sad, but given that the tone is set from the top, WHY do our politicians have to devalue that which makes the US special?
Re: Education, Intelligence and the Aristocracy
Broadway
12/27/2011 2:56:56 PM
The most insidious part of the "dumbing down" of our candidates is that they do that because they think we'll appreciate that. Why? Because they think a majority of us are idiots. Break down difficult topics into simple, easy to manipulate sound bites, and arrange for the talking point of the day. I am a cynic. Knowing that the average American is a C student, and that's a C in an increasingly ineffective educational system, I tend to agree with them.
There are certain names we just don't say in public in our home anymore. They always create bad feelings.
Re: Education, Intelligence and the Aristocracy
Noreen Seebacher
12/27/2011 10:56:02 AM
Yes, great points. We are a very forgiving and accepting nation -- just don't try to deceive us into thinking you're something that you're not...
Re: Friends and Money
tokyogai
12/27/2011 10:36:15 AM
LOL- It does save some bruised egos and a few walkouts.
Re: Education, Intelligence and the Aristocracy
Street Smart
12/27/2011 10:24:17 AM
I agree with you @Broadway that genuine folksiness is not a requirement for appearing folksy, though Dubya sure did seem to like that ranch! By contrast, he always looked beyond pained when he had to spend any time in Kennebunkport!
I also think that the other extreme can work, too. Neither Kennedy nor Roosevelt was ever apologetic about wealth and social position and both used their stations to build powerful identities as defenders of the downtrodden.
Where I think the problem comes in is when candidates try to dumb themselves down. It's insulting to our intelligence, provides no role model for youth, and just makes them look even slimier and more manipulative than they already are.
"Better we have these discussions here rather than during all those family dinners."
Good point!
Re: Education, Intelligence and the Aristocracy
Broadway
12/26/2011 9:35:05 PM
StreetSmart, you can have an aristocratic background and still come off as folksy if you have the proper handlers and pr machine. Class recent example is the Ivy-league educated "country bumpkin" George W. Bush, who family roots only very recently and conveniently found soil in Texas.
And the distinction in the blog between aristocrats and robber barons is inaccurate. There are plenty of aristocrats in business and in the military these days too ... let's get a roll call on the 1 percenters and see where they all work (if they work).
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