con·tempt noun kənˈtem(p)t
contempts, plural
1.The feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn
By now, many eloquent voices have already weighed on Governor Romney's thoughts, uttered in May of this year but just now seeing the broader light of day. After reading and re-reading the excerpts regarding the "47%" of sure-thing Obama voters, the word that comes to mind more than any other is contempt.
According to the transcript from Mother Jones:
There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what . . . .
I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.
Let's begin with the first sentence. I am one of the people who will vote for President Obama. I will do so proudly. I am a sure bet, a member of the Democratic party through and through. But I will not do so because I believe that I am a victim, and it is certainly not because I cannot be convinced to take personal responsibility and care for my life.
I will vote for the President because I believe that a woman should be paid the same amount as a man for the same work done, and that she should have a judicial remedy available to her if that is not the case. I will vote for the President because I believe that a fair and just society is one where the choice to receive chemotherapy should not result in bankruptcy for all but the super-rich. I will vote for the President because I believe that the only way to make demonstrable progress against the scourge of polution, the perils of climate change, and crippling dependency on fossil fuels is through concerted governmental action and robust governmental regulation. I will vote for the President because he is the first U.S. President to sign a civil rights bill that protects its citizens based upon their sexual orientation. I will vote for the President because I believe there is a place for diplomacy, nuance, and historical context in our approach to the Middle East. I will vote for the President because I believe he will better protect the social safety net and the lower and middle class in this country. In short, I will vote for the President because I fundamentally agree with his policies and his conception of American citizenship.
Governor Romney apparently finds it impossible that anyone could hold such views, except from a position of victimhood. He dismisses them with scorn, with disdain, and yes, with contempt. It is one thing to disagree with policy prescriptions for this country. But it is quite another to dismiss them out of hand as the inevitable product of a culture of victimhood and governmental dependency. It is possible to believe in the social safety net AND to take personal responsibility very seriously--these are not mutually exclusive ideas. The callousness and ease with which Governor Romney is able to wave away loyalties that one might hold to the President shows an almost unbelievable blindness to a huge swath of this country.
And herein lies the real rub for me. You cannot be the sole elected national representative in this country if you have contempt for half its populace. You cannot govern a people if you refuse to engage with half of its ranks because you view its belief in the responsibility of both government and the governed with scorn. If Governor Romney wins this election, he will be--and has to be--my President too. He can disagree--as the current President does with many of the policies offered by the right--but he has to do so from a place where he does not view the sources of those views as poison, as deserving of dismissal because they are so esconced in a culture of personal irresponsibility.
The Governor seems to know a lot about me. I grew up in a middle class neighborhood in Missouri surrounded by hard-working people. I tried really hard to get A's in school--in high school, in college, and in law school. I made it through college and grad school on scholarships and student loans, many of which I'm still paying off. I pay a great deal in taxes, though I think it would be fairer if I and other who have been similarly successful had to pay relatively more. I'll leave it to others to determine whether I lack for personal responsibility. To presume that I want for personal responsibility because of my political views, however, is insulting. And offensive. And shows an absurd lack of awareness from a person born to immense privilege and wealth.
Governor Romney views me with contempt. The feeling is mutual.