Thomas Sowell's column this morning is spot on about the dangers of brilliant people running things. I don't know about you, but I was under the impression that everyday workin' folk know more about living Life, solving Problems, and overcoming Troubles than any book- and classroom-educated Ph.D. Of course, Intelligent, Educated People with the right letters after their names, having been 'educated' far beyond their own intelligence at The Finest Centers of Learning, don't believe that for a second. Doesn't change the facts, does it?
There is usually only a limited amount of damage that can be done by dull or stupid people. For creating a truly monumental disaster, you need people with high IQs.
Such people have been told all their lives how brilliant they are, until finally they feel forced to admit it, with all due modesty. But they not only tend to over-estimate their own brilliance, more fundamentally they tend to over-estimate how important brilliance itself is when dealing with real world problems.
Many crucial things in life are learned from experience, rather than from clever thoughts or clever words. Indeed, a gift for the clever phrasing so much admired by the media can be a fatal talent, especially for someone chosen to lead a government.
Make no mistake about it - most people, most Americans, for that matter, are not dull or stupid. Eventually, by relying on our God-given instincts and following the principles of the Constitution of the United States, we come around, even when we've been lied to by omission or commission, even when we've been somewhat willfully blind and deaf to Reality.
