Smart people are not necessarily better people, but smart people are more able to consciously choose to be better people. Or worse people.
It's a double-edged sword.
But dumb people don't seem to be able to even choose. They are what they are, and not capable of thinking further than that. There are good stupid people and bad stupid people (just as there are both kinds of smart people), but they can't consider why they do what they do- unless they say something about religion or god to justify themselves. Thought makes them uncomfortable. Change would be scary. Realizing they have been wrong and need to change would unthinkable (in more ways than one) if it were even possible.
I realize everyone has a sort of ethical inertia. But, it is easier to at least discuss Liberty with smart people. And more likely (in my experience) to be successful in at least getting them to consider what you say.
Be smart and make the right choices- the choice to refuse to violate others, and to withdraw your support from those who choose to continue violating others "on your behalf".
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I think most people, smart and not-so-smart, aren't by nature out to hurt others, or steal their property, or even mooch off them. It's just what they've been told, forever. For some, it was beat into them as a kid. Add in that you get rewarded for being rotten and punished for being good. And mooching? These days there's hardly anything but.
ReplyDeleteHappily, probably the reason so many people find it tough thinking about liberty, is because they don't think about this stuff at all. They just live their lives and don't think about, let alone understand, to where encroaching tyranny must lead. I reckon they''re gonna find out one way or the other. Though it does seem that it'd be wiser to make the choices for yourself instead of having rulers make them for you, especially rulers who are so clearly out to enslave you.. Higher survival rate too I'm guessin', but there's no telling how low that could go.
But hey...in the end, everyone DOES make their choices. People can pretend they're not choosing, but the consequences are going to happen to them regardless.