When we see people speaking on TV, there’s an almost automatic, if unrecognized reaction. We think to ourselves, “That person is smart.” Or, we realize, “That person is dumb.” We may also understand, “That person is trying to sound smart, but is not.” Sometimes, we may notice, “That person is smart, but wants to seem dumb to avoid offending anyone.”
After becoming aware of our tendency to catgegorize people by IQ and pretension, we must understand that loving kindness and honesty are more worthwhile characteristics than intelligence. We also analyze those qualities, or lack of them, when listening and watching people.
“That person just thinks about herself.” is one judgment. So is, “She thinks she’s better than other people.” “He is not telling the truth.” is another opinion that may be formed. “That man is honest and trustworthy.” is another.
Why are we wrong so often? We tend to be trusting people. As such, we tend to believe what other people say. When we hear people say that “So and So is a smart and honest person who sincerely wants to make things better.”, we tend to believe and vote for the person about whom we hear the most good things.
Thus we see a great weakness in democracy. To win an election, one only needs amass enough funding to widely disseminate good descriptions.
