The phantom of American stupidity

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The Foreign Exchange

The phantom of American stupidity

This piece represents the opinion of the author:

Benjamin Ziomek

Columnist

April 2, 2010

During Spring Break I stopped in a café for a drink, and, being one of the only customers in the establishment, I struck up a conversation with the barista. We wandered through topics, eventually arriving at that perennial favorite: politics. The barista shook his head, and proceeded to lament to me that so many Americans lack the intelligence to understand anything about politics, and that American politics will remain obtuse unless the population magically gets smart enough to actually understand the world. I nodded politely, and steered the conversation in another direction; soon, we were discussing our educations. He told me he wasn't in a formal schooling program, but—with a showman-style twirl of his hands, apparently demonstrating his craft—I was informed that my companion spent his evenings studying "alternative healing."

I left the establishment again shaking my head, but this time because of the sheer ridiculousness of what had just occurred. If this purveyor of non-WHO-approved therapies considers himself a shining example of the intelligence of humanity, it's hard to take anyone seriously who decries the stupidity of their fellow man. Indeed, I'm sure almost all of us have heard someone whining about the stupidity of Americans in general, but rarely does anyone provide much evidence to back their claims up.

If we examine the reasons that people complain about the stupidity of this nation, it invariably leads back to politics. Europeans loved to marvel at how moronic Americans were to elect the—as most saw it—even more brainless George W. Bush. And especially in light of the turmoil that has characterized Washington in the past few years, the supposed stupidity of Americans is causing ever more groans of horror to fill domestic airwaves and coffee shops. Of course, there is a lot to marvel at when it comes to politics. American presidents have certainly had a lot to teach the world about the wonders of "nucular" power and smoking without inhaling, but this more reflects on an idiosyncratic characteristic of Americans rather than the nation's basic intelligence.

When choosing a leader, the citizens of most Western countries look for someone who can hold a guiding light, or at least get something they see as positive done by using their talents and connections. In other words, they are looking for elites to lead their nations. On the other hand, when one examines American presidential campaigns, the platforms are much different. Dubya, for example, was revered as a guy you'd just want to invite to a barbeque, or meet on the street and have a friendly chat with. I can definitely see how that would be true, and yet, neither of those seem like the qualifications that should be required for running the most powerful country in the world.

Perhaps this is just another example of a deep-set distaste for intellectuals (in what other country can one see the term "overeducated" used in the media?) and not a distinct desire to have an average Joe run the country, but it is nonetheless chilling. It seems that many Americans cannot stomach the idea of putting someone they see as "superior" to themselves—or perhaps one they just think sees himself as such—in a position of power over them. I'm not going to attempt to analyze this tendency, but it certainly exists. As I pointed out in my last column, it seems that the only elites that most Americans can throw more than grudging support behind are those who play sports.

America sees itself as a middle-class nation, and that is a good thing the vast majority of the time. However, when such egalitarian ideals get in the way of effective governance, which, as is clear when glancing at all of the tiers of government, they certainly have, perhaps it is time to let a little hint of elitism slip into national debate.

So no, Americans are not stupid, at least not in the way that the country is stereotyped. After all, how could the home of most major corporations and the source of so many scientific advances be populated by dunces? It is time to let the myth of the moronic American die a long-deserved death. While Americans are not idiots, as much of the world would like to think, it often seems that, judging by their electoral decisions, many Americans want the world to see them as such.

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