Intelligence

A few years ago, one of my doctors retired. I miss his care and advice. Even more, I miss the little conversations we used to have on various topics. Full disclosure – one reason he retired is because the corporation dictated that he couldn’t spend time on such conversations. The process was becoming too much of an assembly line. But I digress.

The gist of one conversation has stayed with me. We were talking about medicine, teaching, and how people think and behave. I made the point that some of my students seemed to want high grades without doing much work. He prefaced his point by saying that he wasn’t trying to be an elitist or look down on anyone because he was a doctor. He said something like, “Let’s face it, Mark. Some people aren’t that bright.” He then offered a few examples – patients who told him they quit smoking, stuck to their diets, exercised every day, or took their meds as prescribed. All of them thought they would be believed despite clear evidence they were lying. “Either they’re not that bright, or they think I’m not.”

The fictional Doctor House famously declared, “Everybody lies.” Everybody wants to project their best image, so they don’t tell the whole truth. Many people have a hard time admitting their shortcomings. Some have trouble following the instructions of their doctors, or their teachers, for that matter. Others, like Alice in Wonderland, give themselves good advice, “but very seldom follow it.” Which brings me to the point.

Some people would rather not talk about racism, sexism, gender, and other “divisive” topics. It’s as if not talking about problems like these will make them go away. Just because we refuse to talk about something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist or isn’t true. Generally, when people refuse to talk about the hard topics, either they are lying to themselves or are not bright enough to carry on a serious discussion.

Certainly, we need to be sensitive to the ability of the participants to understand the topic. We shield young children from information beyond their years for good reason. Even so, I expected my college students to be able to comprehend the horror of public lynching when we discussed the song, “Strange Fruit.” Not talking about that era in US history would be tantamount to denying that well-documented domestic terrorism against persons of color took place. Some topics are difficult to discuss, yet it seems to me their difficulty is a strong indication that they need to be discussed.

When I was growing up, I received practically no instruction about sex from my parents. My ninth-grade biology teacher, a couple of books, and the boy’s locker room became my main sources of information. I still wish my parents had been less reticent back then. I can only imagine the mental landscape of young people today who basically learn about sex from the internet. It amazes me that so many parents are worried about this or that book in the school library while the wide world of pornography is easily accessible on the web. Kids today know at least 10 times as much about sex as I did – at a much younger age – with or without the books some are trying to ban. Maybe trying to keep such things secret isn’t the best option.

In a way, the “don’t talk about it” crowd has a point. Without action, talking will not solve our problems. More committees, task forces, commissions, study groups, and acronymic organizations will not accomplish anything until people simply start trying to do better for those who have been marginalized or disenfranchised. I’m reminded of those who study and memorize scripture but never act on what they’ve learned because they fear losing their cherished position in society. In Luke, Chapter 11, Jesus faced this problem head-on: “Woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.” Those who love the status quo are unlikely to take steps to change it, to help others, to make it possible for everyone to have the same opportunities as they did.

Intelligence reflects our ability to acquire and apply knowledge. A good first step is to admit we have problems. We must not deny they exist, because we need to decide what to do about them. And we must act in order to solve them. Those who “aren’t that bright” will make all kinds of claims while they continue to do nothing. Those with intelligence will find ways to deal with problems constructively even when they feel uncomfortable or the proposed solutions require hard work.