I have become an elitist.

This is probably old hat for a lot of people. Elitists are everywhere in this country. Like it or not, schools like Carleton are teeming with them. They’re not people who thumb their nose at you, or even people who are particularly proud of their elitism. They’re just people who are fundamentally disconnected from the basic elements of mainstream America, who feel uncomfortable participating in that mainstream life.

I’m not supposed to be an elitist. I didn’t grow up in a suburban liberal home. I grew up on a farm, for God’s sake! I was ingrained in rural culture, had friends from blue-collar families, was involved in the community. Even if I wasn’t all that religious, I went to church growing up.

But it doesn’t matter now. Today I went to church for the first time (excepting weddings, funerals, etc.) in over a year. As someone who grew up Catholic but is agnostic and doesn’t really wish to practice, this is an uncomfortable enough experience. True to stereotype, Catholics love guilt, so it’s tough for me to go to church without being guilt-tripped into volunteering for some activity or other that you don’t have time for. Avoiding that alone is enough to keep you away.

But today there was a difference. After previous absences, I’ve always come back to church, if not enthralled by the religious message, at least humbled by the feeling of community. To me, the fact that the religion thing wasn’t my cup of tea didn’t matter so much. I could sense the strong community, and that alone seemed normal, and comforting, and above all worthy of respect.

This morning wasn’t like that though. From the moment I stepped in to the time I left, I felt differently. Things that I chalked up to community spirit now seemed odd, uncomfortable, adolescent. The church, which had once seemed to me mostly apolitical, now felt decidedly political and less welcoming. Was this a result of a change in the leadership or the message? Had the members of my church, generally politically moderate types who kept to themselves about socially conservative church doctrine, suddenly become pro-life crusaders? No. The message was as apolitical as ever, the people themselves were as open and welcoming as they had always been. Sameness was everywhere, except not with me. I had become an elitist.

It’s people like me that screw over the Democratic Party.

Posted on November 7th, 2004 by Lee
Filed under: Uncategorized