This diary has to do with a common attribute self attributed to our side. That were smarter than the other guys. That conservatives are too willing to believe bald faced lies but we're smart enough to look at "reality". In some instance's that may be true. But I think that calling a group, any group, smarter than another group is wrong. Not only is it wrong calling your own group smart is stupid.
First off I don't argue that any member of a group is stupid, only that groups in general are stupid. The whole, wisdom of a crowd, idea concerns individuals who through aggrigate action or ideas, produce better idea's. In other words their not a group so much as just a bunch of people.
Groups are stupid. Each group no matter how virtuous its intentions or well thought out its program feeds on the emotions of the others and can lead them all into blind and stupid alleys. This is not not to say that some groups are more right than another. But reasoning and thought belong only to the individual, not to the group.
My biggest reason though for writing this is simple. When someone tells me that they are smarter than I am my first response is "fuck you". I don't want to consider what they have to say because they have already told me that whatever I have to say in response will be discredited by the the very fact that I said it.
We've done this for years, no matter how great Adlai Stevenson was as a guy, our consideration of the brillance of our idea's blinded us to the concept that sticking a guy who anyone who even took a second glance at would thing "egghead" might be not the smartest move in the book. Its not to say that smarts aren't good. I personally and none too humbly think I have more of them than most.
But we've taken pride every time the Republican's defeat us that at least were smarter than them. Which makes every person who doesn't sit on our side of the fence kinda wonder why'd they'd even want to. Cause no one wants be around a bunch of folks who think their smarter than everyone else. No matter how right they are.
The Republican's figured it out. They just called any one who didn't agree with them un-american or unpatriotic. Any one who hears that thinks, "I am too patriotic and I sure don't want to be caught with those folks who are unpatriotic".
So although this is a bit rambling, my point is that the constant call of we're smarter than them just puts people off, even if it is true. And second I may be smarter than you or you may be smarter than than me, but we are never very smart.