Saturday, May 19, 2007 - Contemplating on: Elitism and its insights :

Elites are commonly referred to as individuals from glorious backgrounds who most probably attend prestigious schools and excel remarkably well in academic studies.

I feel that what make elites different from the norm is their abilities to perform tasks more intelligently and their impeccable way they carry themselves. However, they do share similarities like the rest of us from humbler backgrounds, it is a pity we tend to overlook these resemblances to grumble how much we envy them and wish that somehow our identities could be switched.

Black eyes, however flash with envy of green everywhere I turn.

Some of us feel that elitism has negative influences on fellow peers and society. Personally, I feel that no doubt a number of elites do belittle schoolmates who do not perform as splendidly as themselves in studies. They define success as being able to secure a position in a highly recognised school or university. Some of us conveniently label them as muggers who study like bookworms for the entire day. Others argue by saying that elites score well in tests even if they do not bury their heads in volumes of books and piles of notes like the rest of us do.

Well, I admit I do agree to the latter sometimes.

Nevertheless, elites face their own struggles too.

First, some elites I know of do not wish to be looked upon as geniuses or superior to their friends from neighbourhood schools as it may create a rift in the relationship. It would cause communication problems and awkward situations may arise if one considers himself as inferior and sees his friend from a top school as smarter and brainier than him.

Second, elites face stress in their own school too. They often feel pressurised to push themselves hard so as not to fall behind the rest of their elite schoolmates. Everyone thinks that everyone else in an elite. So they constantly seek ways and means to enter the ranks of an elite too.

Also, elites encounter circumstances when they are expected to meet people’s high expectations of them. For instance, during inter-school competitions, audiences would whisper among themselves and comment straightaway that the elite schools would definitely win hands down. If they lose, people would see them in a different light and this would cause the students to feel that they have contradicted the glorious, victorious image of their school.

In a nutshell, I feel that we should not view elites as a different species from ourselves. Instead of feeling jealous, why not learn from elites? It would foster better communication and friendship between elites and non-elites so that in future, the gap would slowly disappear.

The future ain't what it used to be. hugged teddy at 12:48 AM