"IS SOCIETY REALLY INTELLIGENT?"

by Rev. Dr. CW Smith III

[COLUMN: Adept's Pillar]

Why is it that the human race has supposedly come as far as it has over tens of thousands of years and yet as a whole, we continue to battle each other for the same basic reasons ? Better yet, are we really "smarter" now than our ancestors were? We have access to information at the press of a key and have re-discovered many technological advances that give us the illusion that we are indeed advanced and civilized.

What exactly makes a person intelligent, anyhow? Is it the accumulation of vast amounts of information gained through study, or the ability to make critical decisions that will affect one in a most positive manner based on the evaluation of facts? Do you really believe that a person with a PHD is more intelligent than say, a person with an Associates degree?

Society has taught us since the day we were old enough to attend school that intelligent people become successful people, and to be intelligent means doing as you are told to the best of your ability, or making good grades by becoming indoctrinated by the system's pre-defined parameters.

While the above can be financially true thanks to the system's established grid of control, let's consider the facts. There are just as many, if not more successful people without degrees than with degrees. We now face even more perils to our survival than our ancestors did, our biggest threat being ourselves. Why is it that while a particular individual may "succeed" in a particular role, that by in large, they are quite stupid and are unable to function as human beings or retain facts about the world around them? Aside from knowing that most of the information that we receive, whether it comes from the media or textbooks is distorted or completely false, one must learn to ask questions and approach life with an inquisitive mind. Stop making assumptions. Stop thriving on bias.

Free thought IS intelligence.