Is it normal to distrust intelligence in our leaders?

15 Comments

There is an increasing trend towards choosing national political leaders who are, with the best will in the world, not just a few sandwiches short of a picnic, but an entire picnic short of a picnic plus the means of transportation required to get to said picnic.

In the Philippines, there is PNoy (a President with a tag) grinning like a dimwit during the Manila Hostage Crisis. In the United States, there used to be Dubya (a President with a tag) calling upon the world's nations to stop terrorism and then, in the same beat, asking the assembled media to watch how well he plays golf as if those two things are of equal importance. In the future of the United Kingdom there appears to be BoJo (a potential Prime Minister with a tag) who uses apparent stupidity as a political tool while remaining a serial liar, cheat and deceiver.

This isn't a question about PNoy or Dubya (who both seem creditable on some fronts) but about whether by distrusting intelligence in our leaders we have unwittingly created an opportunity for semi-intelligent leaders to feign ignorance and lead us surreptitiously.

Something else is going on 9
No 7
Yes 22
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Comments ( 15 )
  • dinz
    11 years ago

    I wouldn't necessarily call it lack of intelligence but merely the ignorant attitudes of some leaders.

    These leaders are not dumb by all means because they have the intelligence to elevate themselves into power. The problem arises when a leader (who is democratically elected) ignores the general consensus of the populous and make decisions not agreed to.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      11 years ago

      I'm not sure their elevation is a proof of intelligence, in much the same way people winning TV talent shows is no proof of talent.

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  • kingsleycrowne
    11 years ago

    Ah they're all puppets

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  • LizardSkin
    11 years ago

    Has nothing to do with intelligence. Obama is probably a mastermind, only he doesn't serve the people, rather his own personal agenda and those affiliated with him.

    Watch "The Obama Deception" on youtube.

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  • [Old Memory]
    11 years ago

    I cannot trust something that isn't there.

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  • 1000yrVampireKing
    11 years ago

    I would like an intelligent leader. I think we should pick intelligent people instead of electing celebrities,lawyers and flower kissing prancers. I think we should elect a banker. If a bank keeps itself open that means they are doing something right. We also need a leader who can decide what side they are on. That will not help your enemies even if for sales sake. If you sell someone a gun and they turn around and shoot you its a bad sale. I mean come on that is just bad business. At the least a banker has experience dealing with money. Unlike mr.Actor who spent his days acting like a hero without really being one.

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  • squeallikeasacofpigs
    11 years ago

    Graduate of The University of Oxford and old Etonian. I hardly think the Boris is stupid.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      11 years ago

      The question doesn't imply that he is stupid. Quite the opposite.

      "...whether by distrusting intelligence in our leaders we have unwittingly created an opportunity for semi-intelligent leaders to feign ignorance and lead us surreptitiously."

      I'm not sure people read it or, if they did, understood it.

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  • davesumba
    11 years ago

    It isn't the intelligence that you have to distrust in our leaders, it's the greed and corruption that you have to distrust.

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  • dom180
    11 years ago

    This might sound a bit conspiratorial, but I think Boris Johnson is far more intelligent than he seems. He plays the clown in interviews because it gives him popularity and exposure, but behind the scenes he's obviously a shrewd politician. It's a show. He may look like a bumbling buffoon on TV, but his policy is generally popular and he knows how to get his way. I distrust him much more than any other slimy politician because at least the other's are honest about their sliminess; he has to hide it behind a fictional character.

    I agree with you. We as a whole care far too much about the (fake) personality of our politicians and not about the actual things they will do with power.

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    • bananaface
      11 years ago

      God, Boris Johnson is one of my least favourite people ever. I absolutely despise him, and I don't understand why anyone likes him. He seems so awful to me. Did you see that interview he did on the Andrew Marr Show?

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      • dom180
        11 years ago

        I watched it on iPlayer this morning, and I'm going to watch the documentary tonight. I thought he came across as incredibly arrogant om Andrew Marr (which he always does), but more than that he showed there was no substance at all behind his rhetoric. The interviewer had him on the ropes and it was nice to watch his being exposed for what he is. He wouldn't answer a single question straight. I've got a bit of a pet theory that people like him because he doesn't seem to take politics seriously they identify with his apathy, but it's plain to me that he's obviously a fraud and a liar who would be a terrible Prime Minister. I honestly think most people just can't see through him or don't care. I don't think David Cameron is any better; I think it's a miracle anyone will vote for either of them.

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        • dom180
          11 years ago

          I also think that because people think he's funny they assume he's harmless :P

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          • bananaface
            11 years ago

            Yeah. I just get the impression that a lot of people find politicians and just politics in general boring, and Boris comes across as a bit of a clown, I guess. I don't know, but people like him make me sad.:/

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  • [Old Memory]
    11 years ago

    I'm looking for the book of the wet ravens forlorn hope.

    Wait, what the fuck is this distrust the intelligence in our leaders shit?

    Fuck this question, and don't you follow me, I kill you, I kill you, I kill you.

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