Is Intelligence everything?
I see the answer everyday...in forms of whispers...and in the form of subtle discrimination and prejudice.....
These so called "smart people" had for the most, a terrible childhood. Maybe it's because I never felt the pain of the world , when I was so young, maybe that is why I still trust humanity. But for some of them, the elementary school years were a painful and rocky time for them. Children do not understand sometimes, and they felt frustrated.
When they got to middle school, and for the first time we see academic segreagation. They put the brightest in one classroom and the "normal" in the other. They start to snicker when they hear a "stupid" response, or a question that they believe can be obviously answered.
They might grow up; might grow up to be our brightest. But something that has taken me a long time to figure out; intelligence is nothing. These "smart" people have been through so much that they take it out on the rest of us.
I might be considered smart; but I never will be one of them. I'll stand up and die for ethics; for what is good in this world. Maybe they don't realize but if we don't stand up for what we believe in, then what is this world good for.
I would take someone with a heart and a curious mind to someone who could fill in the bubbles and get a great test score. We live in this new era of humanity; our relationships with one another will only become stronger.
Maybe I'm just a compassionate person. But I will stand up for everyone else; because they have stood up for me. My fellow Americans, have protected our rights, they have died for them. They are the teachers; the policemen; the brave men and women in uniform. They are America. I'm sure all of us have said something embarassing; something akwardly worded.
Intelligence isn't everything. If it is, what is the purpose of life?
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2 comments:
I'm not alone, I see! There are so many tests of intelligence that it is unfair to expect someone to succeed at every single one of them. I too would rather work with someone who was as curious as I was about the world, rather than someone who took a straight path to the answers. It's basically mental filtration - and that's why intelligence is sometimes so incomprehensible.
Like this comment. I'm sleepy :P
I understand what you mean, Mstcn, because I've been through the exact same thing and felt the same way. In Taiwan, it's clearer than in the States. Now, I know that a compassionate heart is far more important than a intelligent brain.
What is the use of intelligence? Simply to help people with. But I feel these people no longer feel that way, but only use intelligence as a way to feel superior to others.
In Taiwan, children sacrifice their childhood to learn more and to gain more intelligence, partly because of Taiwan's educational system. When I came back in fifth grade, I was stunned by how some people put stock in grades and intelligence. It was as if some of them didn't care what kind of a person you were, as long as you got good grades. Of course, there are still a lot of people who don't judge people by their grades, who I think actually qualify as human beings. But I still know some who still think that way.
A curious mind to understand the problems to the world is more important than a mind who just wants to get a good grade on the next test. What's so important about tests in school, anyways? In the real world, no one really uses these tests. They can't help you in society. Outside, they look for a person with true ability, and a good heart.
I may have been put in the category of "smart", but I will never truly fall into their world. I will never fit. What is truly important is to help others, not flaunt your superior intelligence and make inferior people feel bad. One who does the latter is a truly despicable person, and we should strive to do the former.
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