Saritha Prabhu

Columnist

Saritha Prabhu of Clarksville is a USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee columnist.

Some things in American society are changing fast.

Twenty-seven years ago, when I immigrated here, some things I liked and learned from were the egalitarianism and dignity of labor on display in everyday life here.

I noticed that a plumber is equal to a lawyer is equal to a firefighter (at least aspirationally). Underlying this were the ideas that it takes all kinds of work to make a society go around, and that whether you were a working class person or a professional, you were worthy of equality and respect.

My native country, India, has some great cultural merits, but one of its societal flaws is its feudalistic, casteist outlook. Working-class people there still are either invisible or mistreated, and even when treated well are not considered equal.

Gradually, I internalized these quintessential American values: You are not “better” than someone else, and certainly not simply because you went to college and work in an office.

Elites make light of people's humble beginnings or economic struggles

Ironically, those ideas are under assault in America today, and surprisingly from some liberals at that.

Recently, Alec Baldwin mocked Sean Hannity as this “Long Island, working-class” guy.

Hannity can be criticized for some things, but “working-class” shouldn’t be one of them. If anything, he is worthy of respect for rising from his humble roots and becoming a successful TV host.

Then there was Bill Maher ranting recently on his HBO show: “The flyover states have become the passed-over states... There are two Americas. And it seems like one is where the cool jobs are, where people drive Teslas and eat artisanal ice cream.

“We have orchestras and theater districts and world-class shopping. We have Chef Wolfgang Puck. And they have Chef Boyardee. Our roofs have solar panels. Theirs have last year’s Christmas lights. We’ve got legal bud. They’ve got Bud(weiser).”

I’m not suggesting that all liberals and Democratic Party leaders think this way. Matter of fact, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg have taken pains to address working and middle class concerns.

But if you read/listen to commentary in much of the national media, you do see a trend that sees rural and/or working class voters as backward and as the losers in today’s global economy.

Hillary Clinton, too, after her 2016 loss, joined the refrain. By boasting that a majority of her voters came from “dynamic” areas that represented “two-thirds of America’s gross domestic product” she implied that voters coming from poorer, rural backgrounds had less value.

Trump showed he could connect with white working class Americans

How and when did “working-class” become a pejorative?

There has been a gradual shift in both the Democratic Party and in our society, in general, on two counts.

One, in the last 15 years, as globalization grew, manufacturing jobs went overseas, and the American economy gradually shifted to a knowledge and service economy.

And two, the Democratic Party shifted from its working-class, labor roots to become more a party of city-dwelling, educated, professional-class liberals.

Gradually, the stench of contempt toward “the other America” has developed. And just as contempt toward a marital partner can be fatal in a marriage, contempt from a party toward some of its voters can be fatal too.

The dilemma for some Democratic leaders is they don’t much like white working class voters but want their vote anyway.

But no amount of proposed economic sops will be enough if voters in Middle America feels like they are looked down upon.

But coming back to our snooty elites: Some of them are so out-of-touch that they don’t even know they’re out-of-touch. Pity toward them feels like the appropriate emotion.

To these fancy-pants people I’d say: Real cosmopolitanism and true education are not defined by being well-traveled, by being able to look, dress and talk the part, or at being able to afford overpriced, pretentious food and designer accessories.

It is, rather, at seeing worth in every individual you encounter, and at treating everyone with the same dignity and respect, be they a waiter or a CEO.

One big irony here is that Donald Trump, for all his flaws, has truly connected with ordinary, working Americans in Middle America, has recognized their economic woes, and doesn’t look down on them.

This part of him is authentic, and won him the 2016 election.

To me, the real deplorables are some elites whose views on class are un-American and unclassy.

Saritha Prabhu of Clarksville is a USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee columnist. Reach her at sprabhu43@gmail.com.