I am an elitist...

I'm an admitted elitist. Yep, me, John Ater. I believe in elitism. And here is why.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word "elite" as "a group of people considered to be the best in a particular society or category, esp. because of their power, talent, or wealth."

And I would add because of their intelligence, common sense and abilities.

Life, even for us simple folk, often proves to be very complicated and presents us with myriad choices that often change the courses of our lives. In my older years, I have come around to the belief that those choices hold no moral weight of "right" or "wrong", "good" or "evil" but hold a more karmic and immediate weight of consequences.

We are watching the consequences of our choices play out in today's world. The consequences of electing senators and representatives and presidents who allowed financiers to regulate themselves finally arrived at our doorsteps in the past few weeks. The consequences of electing (or rather having a Supreme Court elect) a president who decided (probably at the urging of his vice president) that the Constitution of the United States did not apply to his presidency are now abundantly clear even to most of his die hard supporters. The consequences of blindly following that same president's lead in a "war on terror" played out in an unrelated war with a country which we know now had nothing to do with the attacks of September 11th. Those consequences we all have watched play out on the news in body counts and human rights violations and loss of respect for what our country once meant to those around the world.

I could not agree more with Bill Clinton's words.

"People around the world have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."

But Dr. Martin Luther King said it best.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

As I have aged, I have learned those lessons, finally. And in learning them, I have become a believer in the elite; the elites like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Abigail Adams, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John Kennedy, W.E.B Du Bois, Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards, Hillary Clinton, Maya Angelou... The list is too long. You know. Those elites.

For our nation, I want an elite as president. In fact, I want elites running this country and the world. I want the best and the brightest, the smartest, the ones who have character and some common sense, the ones who can and do actually think beyond their own lives and bank accounts, who consider seriously the consequences of their actions and how those actions will affect the people who sent them to office. I may not agree with them. I may even oppose them. However, because they are the elites, I will know they believe in their choices and they will think beyond their own selfish interests and those of their rich friends.

We are standing at a turning point. We, as individuals and as a people, will live with the consequences of our choice in this presidential election. No matter who is elected, the president will make mistakes. That is the curse and the blessing of being human. What I desire is not someone who blames everyone else for the mess but a person who can own up to those mistakes and chart a course out of whatever quagmires those mistakes create. Give me an elite. Give me someone who is smarter than I am. Give me someone of character and of thought and of compassion. Give me someone who is willing to shoulder the weight of the world and give us their best shot.

Call me an elitist. I can think of no more honorable a title.