Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Zakaria: Assessing George Bush and WASP Culture
By admin
Published 6 years ago on
December 13, 2018

Share

Memorials marking the passing of former president George H.W. Bush have prompted commentators to reflect on the American establishment of old.
Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria is among them.
In his Dec. 6 post, Zakaria notes that Bush was a product of the white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant culture that dominated life in the U.S. through the early 1960s. It was an aristocratic system of social, political and corporate power based on family bloodlines and connections. It was also highly discriminatory.

Yet, Zakaria says there was at least one positive element. “For all its faults — and it was often horribly bigoted, in some places segregationist and almost always exclusionary — at its best, the old WASP aristocracy did have a sense of modesty, humility and public-spiritedness that seems largely absent in today’s elite.”

Today’s Elites Lack Empathy

In contrast, he says, those in power today see their ascendancy as purely the product of their own hard work. “They lack some of the sense of the old WASP establishment that they were accidentally privileged from birth,” Zakaria says.
“(T)heir power flows from this treadmill of achievement, so they are constantly moving, looking out for their own survival and success. Their perspective is narrower, their horizon shorter-term, their actions more self-interested.”

Growing Sense of Resentment

As a result, today’s elite has fostered a sense of resentment among those who feel as if their needs and struggles are being ignored by their more successful and entitled countrymen. That is reflected in Trump’s populist appeals as well as the “Yellow Vests” protests in France and the 2016 Brexit vote in the U.K.
Zakaria is quick to note he is not seeking a revival of the WASP establishment, but he believes there’s a lesson in the virtues of that culture.
“Today’s elites should be more aware of their privilege,” he says, “and at least live by one simple old-fashioned, universal idea — rich or poor, talented or not, educated or uneducated, every human being has equal moral worth.”
You can read Zakaria’s full article, “I’m not calling to revive WASP culture. Just to learn from it.” at The Washington Post.

DON'T MISS

Can You Help Nab Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed a Madera Woman?

DON'T MISS

Bredefeld Says Fresno County’s Use of DEI Language Is Over

DON'T MISS

Fresno’s Spay, Neuter Fees Rise, but It Doesn’t Mean You Have to Pay Full Price

DON'T MISS

How Much Rain Did Fresno Get? How Long Will It Continue?

DON'T MISS

Official White House ‘Valentine’ to Immigrants Draws Mixed Reaction

DON'T MISS

JuJu Watkins Lifts Sixth-Ranked USC to Program-Defining Win Over No. 1 UCLA

DON'T MISS

Rodgers’ Stint With Jets Is Over. Here Are Potential Landing Spots if He Doesn’t Retire

DON'T MISS

Curry Scores 27 Points to Lead Warriors to Win Over Rockets

DON'T MISS

‘Saturday Night Live’ Stars Name Their Favorite Sketches

DON'T MISS

US Aircraft Carrier Truman Collides With Merchant Ship Near Egypt

UP NEXT

Editorials of The Times: Now Is Not the Time to Tune Out

UP NEXT

USAID in Turmoil as Aid Programs Cut, Staff Stranded

UP NEXT

Look Past Elon Musk’s Chaos. There’s Something More Sinister at Work.

UP NEXT

The Deadly Truth: Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2024

UP NEXT

Pentagon’s New Media Rotation Program Boots NPR, NY Times, NBC News

UP NEXT

Apple Changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps

UP NEXT

Red, White, and Blueland? GOP Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename Greenland

UP NEXT

White House Bars AP Reporter From Oval Office Because of AP Style Policy on ‘Gulf of America’

UP NEXT

Will ‘Too Many Cooks’ Complicate LA’s Recovery From Deadly Fires?

UP NEXT

Russia Has Released Detained American Teacher Marc Fogel, the White House Says

How Much Rain Did Fresno Get? How Long Will It Continue?

3 hours ago

Official White House ‘Valentine’ to Immigrants Draws Mixed Reaction

5 hours ago

JuJu Watkins Lifts Sixth-Ranked USC to Program-Defining Win Over No. 1 UCLA

5 hours ago

Rodgers’ Stint With Jets Is Over. Here Are Potential Landing Spots if He Doesn’t Retire

5 hours ago

Curry Scores 27 Points to Lead Warriors to Win Over Rockets

5 hours ago

‘Saturday Night Live’ Stars Name Their Favorite Sketches

5 hours ago

US Aircraft Carrier Truman Collides With Merchant Ship Near Egypt

5 hours ago

US Retail Sales Plunged in January After Bustling Holiday Season

5 hours ago

Pope Francis Hospitalized to Treat Bronchitis, Undergo Tests

5 hours ago

Zelenskyy Says He Will Only Meet Putin After Common Plan With Trump Is Negotiated

5 hours ago

Can You Help Nab Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed a Madera Woman?

The California Highway Patrol is asking for the public’s help in locating a driver involved in a November 2024 hit-and-run that killed a Mad...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

Can You Help Nab Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed a Madera Woman?

2 hours ago

Bredefeld Says Fresno County’s Use of DEI Language Is Over

2 hours ago

Fresno’s Spay, Neuter Fees Rise, but It Doesn’t Mean You Have to Pay Full Price

3 hours ago

How Much Rain Did Fresno Get? How Long Will It Continue?

The White House's Valentine’s Day Instagram post on immigration, featuring a controversial message about deportation, sparks widespread reactions, while polls show a divided American opinion on mass deportation versus legalization. (Instagram)
5 hours ago

Official White House ‘Valentine’ to Immigrants Draws Mixed Reaction

5 hours ago

JuJu Watkins Lifts Sixth-Ranked USC to Program-Defining Win Over No. 1 UCLA

5 hours ago

Rodgers’ Stint With Jets Is Over. Here Are Potential Landing Spots if He Doesn’t Retire

5 hours ago

Curry Scores 27 Points to Lead Warriors to Win Over Rockets

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend