I have lived in Oklahoma for all my life and during that time Oklahoma has been considered a red state. When I say red state I mean one of the reddest states in the union. We have a Republican supermajority in the State House and Senate, we have a Republican Governor and I can't remember a time in my life where a single county has gone to a Democrat Presidential Candidate. That used to not be a problem for me. I used to be a staunch Conservative.
Then in my late teens, I had several changes in thought and became a Liberal and finally a registered Democrat. While at school at the University of Oklahoma, I am surrounded by people of like mind and I feel as if I can finally voice my opinions, but when I travel home for the breaks I generally have to keep my involvement in politics and being vocal about politics down to a minimum lest I be scolded by friends and family. Now if I were more passive, I may be able to keep my mouth shut; however, given that I am quite stubborn, political arguments do end up happening.
During these debates, one common theme that arises is that since I go to a university I think myself better than my peers; therefore, I am out of touch. I do try to reconcile this and usually those I argue with do retract their statements though I think they bring up a salient point. Liberal Elitism does exist and it is hurting the Democrats.
What is Liberal Elitism?
Simply put Liberal Elitism is the notion that since Liberals tend to have higher levels of schooling than conservative counterparts, they think themselves better than their peers. I believe that this is true to some extent, though I would argue that it isn't true for a specific type of Liberal. I am involved in Student Government at the University of Oklahoma and while I engage in activities there I come across some of the brightest political minds in undergrad. Many of these people are in the University of Oklahoma's Informed Citizen Discussion Group (ICDG) and have quite impressive resumes for their age. I'm no moron, but compared to these bright stars I can be little more than a flashlight at times.
I also participate in College Democrats and while I agree with the groups' message, I think they can work a bit on their delivery. In some of my discussions with various people from these groups, it would seem that they think everyone outside of the University of Oklahoma that doesn't attend a collegiate institution is a moron and they seem to think that people who disagree with them are just "uneducated."
This Intellectual Elitism is problematic for Democrats because it creates a divide between people who attend college and those who do not and because most of these people are Liberal, it gets attributed to the Democrats as a whole. I think the universities of the country are great institutions and more people should attend them, but what people have to realize is that college isn't for everyone.
One of the main things people point to as a reason Donald Trump won the 2016 election is that he appealed to the so-called "uneducated people." I would argue that these people are differently educated rather than uneducated. This rhetoric of "uneducated" vs. "educated" further distances Democrats from the common person in America who statistically does not have a college degree. It's not just me who says this is a problem. Senator Sanders who made a solid primary bid for the Democratic nomination recently stated that Democrats are "losing touch" and I think that couldn't be more evident than in states like Oklahoma.
I believe that Democrats could do a lot better here if the Democratic youth could stop looking down on those who disagree with them or those who do not attend college. If people make the choice to get out of their confront zones and listen to one another without insults or violence then I think we can go a long way in healing this country and making more effective policy.
