The Crime of Intelligence

When did being intelligent become a crime in American politics?

A very loud part of the electorate today believes that intelligent people have no place in the office of the United States government. That they want somebody they can relate to, somebody that "you can sit down and drink a beer with." That somebody that is intelligent is an elitist and out of touch with the American people.

And the media panders to this idea. But it's not just the likes of Fox News with their "everyday man" news commentary in figures like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. Consider all of the television you watch. How many programs are on television that don't have an explicit laugh track or a down and dirty super serious cop that takes his crime drama too seriously? How many television shows are out there with a plump host teaching how to cook or with somebody that has way too many children but has an extraordinary faith in Christianity? There are so few programs on television that promote intellectual thought and discourse and the one's that do make it on the air, they're not around for very long. And yes, I used the word discourse, it means to talk or converse.

But I think there's a deeper problem than just television. While listening to my 10 minutes of 98 Rock talk radio this morning, one of the hosts, Mickey, stated, "If you live within 200 miles of a coastline, then you are out of touch with the average American." And as ridiculous as that sounds, American politics sure seem to reflect that. The way politicians act, especially Republicans, you would think the Bible Belt's opinion is the only opinion that matters. The only opinion that matters comes from a group of people that value religious servitude and family ties more than intelligence? A group that rejects intelligent thought so thoroughly that intelligent design is included in the curriculum of some science classes?

This is truly a problem, the "dumbness" of American culture. The majority of Americans are so gullible and group-minded that the political process has become this short term swing back and forth in power on the whims of television ads to the point where the legislative process is at a stalemate because the American people have no idea what they want from their government. They want no taxes, yet they want social programs and people to come plow their snow and take their trash. They want a strong president, but not one that will put too much strength in the government. They want corporations to have unlimited freedom to conduct business as they please, but want the corporate heads on a platter if they screw over the American people. If Americans were remotely logical in their thinking, they would know that these are contradictory ideas.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said "Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education." FDR knows the problem with America today, because it was the same problem with America in 1932 and it's always been America's problem. Americans do not value education, therefore our education system is one of the worst in the developed world and therefore, instead of intelligent conversation, you have a bunch of people spilling tea bags into the water in Boston and saying, "Take that President Obama, I don't like your stimulus package. This will show you."

And here's the funny part of the joke. The very politicians that would bring about education reform are too elitist and out of touch with "real America" to get elected. The guy that stands up and speaks eloquent, cohesive thoughts will always lose to the guy that stands up and says, "I drive a truck." It's an endless, self-destructive spiral that is far more difficult to stop than an economic downturn pushed forward by politicians and corporate enthusiasm.

Because, ultimately, stupid people are easier to manipulate into buying a product and re-electing politicians that work against their interest.