#5 - Intellectual Elites?

Having been on a number of search committees, as well as having actually hired people, I am a firm believer in bringing in the best person for the job. Part of this process is matching the skills, talents, and knowledge of the individuals applying with the position available.

This is a good thing, right?

When interviewing surgical residents, Hospitals want to insure that not only do the prospective surgeons have the necessary education and training, but they also have extensive experience in order to be successful in the operating room at the hospital.

How about CEO of a large company? Having an MBA and expert knowledge of business processes and systems help keep companies streamlined and profitable for their investors.

Similarly, we expect that the teachers that work with our children have a high quality education and experience with different teaching techniques that will allow them to connect with all the children that they teach, moving them forward academically.

What do these groups (and many, many more) have in common?

They are all elite in some way.

But what does elite really mean?

From Merriam-Webster.com:

Definition of ELITE

1 a singular or plural in construction : the choice part : cream
b singular or plural in construction : the best of a class
c singular or plural in construction : the socially superior part of society
d : a group of persons who by virtue of position or education exercise much power or influence
e : a member of such an elite —usually used in plural 

For our purposes here, d is the definition that addresses the issue under discussion (although, I'll get to e as well).

Many people strive for YEARS to become elite in their craft.  When kids are playing football in the backyard, do they dream about riding the bench, or being the star quarterback?  When one of those same kids shows promise, what do we do?  We throw resources and opportunities at that child (hopefully) and they continue on the path to developing into a superstar, because on Sunday afternoons, you want to see the best pitted against the best, right?

These examples (plus many more I could quickly conjure up: the master luthier, the phenomenal chef, the technological whiz kid, etc.) speak to the fact that, as a nation, we admire those who excel in their field.

Except in one area.

Politics.

There is a current trend (although, it has certainly come up before) against intellectuals in politics that I simply cannot wrap my head around.

Again, I refer you back to the beginning of this post where I discussed hiring the best person for the job.  Shouldn't we want to have smart people running this country?  That seems too much like common sense to me, so I'm sure I'm missing something along the way.

Before I go any further, I want to assure you that I am not advocating for some intellectual elitist oligarchy or anything like that -  I simply want to KNOW that my elected official is cognitively equipped to handle the challenges inherent in running a country of this size.

Why my concern?

Primarily, I'm hearing phrases like "the intellectual elite" or "so-called experts" from one side of the aisle, and, as an academician, I find it troubling.  Trust me, I don't know everything there is to know about everything, but I do know some things.  If Congress were to convene a task force focused on increasing the social presence of online faculty, I feel that I could speak to that issue with some authority.

It is easy to be folksy and speak in generalities when running for office, isn't it?  Do you want to elect a president that would be "fun to have a beer with" or do you want to hire someone who will be the most effective in governing the nation?

Speaking of language, do you hear a lot of specifics from either side during a campaign?

Nope.

You hear "cut spending" but not what to cut.  

Don't you want the people who represent your legislative (and executive) interests to be open and honest with you about the way your government works?  A phrase that is often used in my house is "tough choices" - referring to the decisions that must be made to stick to the budget or get rid of clutter, generally.

Now, some readers may think that I'm saying you have to have advanced degrees to run for office in this country - that's not what I'm saying at all.

I'm simply stating that running for office on a platform of bashing those who DO have the curiosity to keep growing intellectually is not productive in creating a better country than we have today.