The Elites Lecture the Rest of Us, Okay for Me but Not for Thee

This would be humorous if it weren’t so outrageous. The elites, which I define as a group that includes the country’s political leaders, journalists, business leaders, the wealthy, and the Hollywood crowd, among others, love to lecture the rest of us repeatedly that we must sacrifice and do without for the greater good while they ignore their own advice and do what they want, when they want. They exhibit a profound sense of entitlement that somehow the rules of society that we are required to follow do not apply to them.

This is not exclusively a Dem or a progressive phenomenon. People of all political philosophies on both sides of the aisle are guilty of this. The common thread is that timeworn expression, “do as I say, not as I do.” There are many examples of this. I will list a few to make my point. You will likely be able to think of others.

1. The elites tell us that climate change is our biggest threat. Some have gone so far as to characterize it as an “existential threat.” Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, exhibiting a lack of knowledge of history as well as common sense, has called it “our WWII.” Right. It may be a threat, one of many we are facing presently. We can debate that. But, our biggest? Not even close. Comparing it to WWII with the Holocaust and the loss of millions of lives, is hardly appropriate or accurate. Either she is stupid, or she thinks the voters are.
2. We have been admonished that we have to reduce our carbon footprint to “save the planet.” Among other things, we must give up our cars, our use of fossil fuels, and, in some cases, our jobs. How are we supposed to support our families? Several prominent Dems have made idiotic statements that former coal miners, for example, could just retrain themselves to be computer analysts. Yeah, right. Easy for them to say. They will not be giving up their jobs or sacrificing anything. They plan on retaining their current lifestyle at the expense of the rest of us. Okay for me, but not for thee.
3. The poster boy for this lunacy is the preposterous “Green New Deal.” The elites plan on continuing to enjoy their perks, such as travelling by motorcade and flying on private jets or first class, while the rest of us return to bicycles and walking. Anyone living in a rural area will be sc***ed. Anyone who is not ambulatory will just have to stay home. Sacrifices will have to made for the greater good. Okay for me, but not for thee.
4. It has become fashionable to advocate for defunding police forces. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the end result will be either a delayed police response or no police response. We are already beginning to see this in some areas. The politicians behind this movement, like Pelosi, Schumer, NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio, and the mayor and the members of the city council in Minneapolis to name a few, mostly live in gated communities and maintain their own private security often at taxpayer expense. How ironic is it that the very people who are pressing this issue would not be affected by it. They will remain safe and secure. For the vast majority of people if someone breaks into your house or hijacks your car or accosts you on the street, good luck. Many of us remember the harrowing experience of a Virginia woman who was recently trapped in her car with an infant as an angry mob threatened them. She called 911, but the police could not or would not respond. It is hard to imagine a more frightening experience. Okay for me, but not for thee.
5. This cry for defunding is coming on the heels of the anti-gun people making it more difficult for normal citizens to acquire guns and the no-bail laws that have been instituted in many jurisdictions. So, let me get this straight. It will harder to acquire the wherewithal to protect yourself; when you call 911 there will be a delayed or no response; and the criminal, if caught, will be let out of jail the same day. Nice. Okay for me, but not for thee.
6. Chris Cuomo, a CNN anchor and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s brother, contracted the Coronavirus a couple of months ago. Protocol required him to self-quarantine for two weeks. One day, he broke quarantine to go to Central Park. A passerby recognized him, filmed him, and asked him why he had broken quarantine. Cuomo became incensed and berated the man on camera. Okay for me, but not for thee.
7. In the early stages of the CV people were generally confined to their homes. Yet, NYC Mayor De Blasio found it necessary to travel to his gym in Brooklyn every day with a motorized escort. No sheltering in place for him. No observance of Green New Deal guidelines for him. No sir. Afterall, the man has to maintain his buff physique. Ha ha. Okay for me, but not for thee.
8. Despite stay-at-home restrictions that were in place for Chicagoans Mayor Lori Lightfoot went out for a haircut. The salons were required to be closed, but apparently, not for her. At a press conference she brazenly and unapologetically defended her actions. She told reporters that she needed a haircut and wanted it because she cares about her appearance. Moreover, she said, as mayor, she represents the city and has to “look good.” I’m sure there are thousands of other women who care about their appearance and also wanted haircuts, manicures and other body maintenance to “look good,” but they had to do without. Again, okay for me but not for thee.
9. Many governors instituted extremely harsh, arbitrary and inane restrictions under the guise of combatting corona. Of course, we know that this was as much about wielding power as about protecting against corona. For example, a man was arrested for having a “catch” with his daughter in a public park; religious services were banned, even on Easter Sunday; several small business owners who tried to open their businesses safely in order to earn a few dollars were fined or arrested; and people were forbidden to go to their own vacation homes or visit relatives, who, in some cases, were isolated and in need of care. Yet, one could purchase lotto tickets, liquor and marijuana or get an abortion. Like I said, arbitrary and inane. Okay for me but not for thee.
10. Regarding the recent protests and rioting over the past few weeks many Governors have ignored their own rules regarding social distancing and wearing masks. Some of them even joined in the protests. Then, those same governors criticized President Trump and his supporters for ignoring those same rules at his recent rally. Okay for me, but not for thee.

CONCLUSION

The American people are not stupid. They can see that not everyone is sacrificing equally. Many of them have sacrificed considerably in the last several months, giving up their jobs and their businesses, going into debt, and not seeing parents and grandchildren. Many of them are fed up with what they see as a lack of fairness. They can see that there are separate sets of rules for a few select people.

They blame the politicians, and rightly so. They feel betrayed. We elected these politicians to represent us, to protect us, and to have our best interests at heart. Right now, they feel frightened and betrayed. Our representatives are failing us. They seem to be paralyzed. They are standing by while a small, aggressive minority with extreme beliefs is taking control of the country. Luckily, this is an election year. Hopefully, the voters will speak loudly and clearly on Election Day.