NCE- Another Nasty Meme

Political correctness exits sole as a way of stifling  ideas, speech and behavior that make some people uncomfortable. Truth is often the most uncomfortable thing and, while discomfort is not always proof of truth, it is a close enough indicator to merit investigation. This is why political correctness is so corrosive. It shuts down thought and discussion in order only to soothe feelings. In the process, it prevents a closer relationship with truth. 

When people and their ideas need to be silenced to preserve PC, those people must be disqualified  and, if possible, destroyed without respect (or even reference) to their ideas. One way of blotting out people and their messages is to disqualify them- to define them in such a way that it justifies you and others like you in believing that “those people” could not possibly have anything of value to say. That they are somehow both wrong and incapable of improvement.

This, I believe is the reason for the current change in memes that are applied to the supporters of Donald Trump. Keeping in mind that the statistics do not entirely support the characterization, let’s look at what is being said about them in the media. Working Class used to be the term applied. It is a superficially respectful term. There used to be a respect for useful work diligently done even if elite classes expressed such feelings in a patronizing way. 

How many politicians take pains to tell personal stories, no matter how false or twisted, about their origins in a “working class” family. These stories, however, always end in ascension to the elite class of politicians. The pretention and pride 

If “working class” sounds too dignified and authentic to you and you need to completely negate what you do not want to hear or even acknowledge the existence of, then you need something stronger. The most popular and dishonorable example of this is “Non-College Educated”. It is a designer meme- so effective at damning the opposition and making real debate and, even the facts of the matter, inoperative. Who needs reason and facts when you can just ignore them because they are “uneducated”? 

Of course, any such means to dodge real confrontation with facts and debate only works if your need is particularly desperate- and Donald Trump makes them desperate. 

The truth is, the Non-College Educated (let’s just call them the “NCE” from now on) are not stupid. They are not ineducable and they are not wrong about much in their own lives. They can’t afford to be. They are the hardest working and, in many ways the most accomplished people we have. They have closer families, are more religious and feel more patriotic than the average American. Because they tend not to make their livings at occupations that do not amass great wealth, they are probably better at managing money and time than most. All of these traits speak to practicality and intelligence and they are all things that the jaded elites, who would like to rule them without question, look down upon. You are constantly being “defined out” of the universe of what and who is acceptable.

If you can see that open border immigration is a danger at worst and a dilution of our culture at best, the President tells you you are not acceptable by sniffing, “That is not who we are”. If you can see that the vast majority of terrorism is done by Islamic groups, The president asserts that it “is not true Islam”, decreeing your observation be not acceptable. If the FBI director makes a long speech detailing the malfeasance and disregard for the rules of security of the former Secretary of State and the media helps her to frame it as “exoneration” your sense of outrage, morality and violated fairness is rendered unacceptable. 

I am college educated. In fact, I have a master’s degree. But I know they mean to demean me because I am also a Trump Supporter. I do not care that he speaks his mind and sometimes overstates things. At least he is sincere and honest. I would sooner trust a seasoned businessman with an independent fortune who says what he thinks.  I certainly prefer him to a proven liar who has become rich by selling her influence to anyone with the pony-up. If you have an inkling that speaking fees in the mid-6 figure range for the husband of the Secretary of State that coincide with official actions by The State Department in favor of the entities who paid those fees constitute a selling-out of our nation in a very public and dishonorable way you would too- Unless you are way too elite for folks like us.