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August 23, 2005

Ixnay on the uminationsray

Having been born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I'm sometimes a bit baffled by my southern neighbors. And I don't mean Californians (who do sometimes baffle me..but not for the purposes of this particular post).

The cultural gulf that exists between us is expansive, especially in the political realm. The poles of the polls on Bush's approval rating highlight the gulf:

Rhode Island: Approve 29%,Disapprove 68%

Idaho: Approve 59%, Disapprove 36%

The excellent Elayne Riggs notes the mutual contribution to the gulf. But her summation of the contribution of the North is interesting:

And yes, we Northerners and/or liberals pride ourselves (hmm, pride, isn't that one of the seven deadly sins?) on being so much more enlightened than our conservative/Southern brethren, but we can't help using fancy words (I mean, "ruminations?" honestly) and breathlessly blogging about our summer vacations in Europe and the expensive foods we encounter. We're feeding into this divisiveness every bit as much as they are.

Cynical translation: Southerners don't like it when you demonstrate the fact that you're well traveled and well educated.

This irritates the snot out of me.

Intellectual expansion and exposure to people outside your native culture is a GOOD thing. It's not an elitist attempt to virtually step across the throats of those who either can't or choose not to do it. Greater understanding, in general, shouldn't quarantine an entire section of the country as snobbish pariahs.

Conservatives laid out the idea of higher education as elitist and snobby. They have tried to make liberals ashamed of trying to make more for themselves intellectually. If that creates a chasm between the North and South..perhaps it's time for the South to do a little navel gazing. Why is it not okay to be smart? Why is it not okay to be well traveled? Why is staying in the cocoon of your little community better than moving outside yourself and creating a greater understanding?

In the meantime, conservatives are stealthily placing their ideologues into our institutions of higher learning. So it's only "elitist" to be smart if you're a liberal.

If that North/South cultural gulf requires a "dumbing down" in order to create a bridge...then I say it's a bridge too far. Liberals shouldn't be backing down from being smart and well educated. They should be dragging our Southern neighbors along with them..even if they're kicking and screaming.

Posted by Carla at August 23, 2005 10:04 AM