Lord knows there is a lot I could talk about that is keeping us as individuals and as a nation from becoming as great as we could be. Renunciation of wisdom is what this particular post is about.

Compared to many Asian countries we in the U.S. have never had much of a respect of our elderly. It seems that even what we had has disappeared in the last couple of decades.

Not trusting the most knowledgeable among us is a path back to the Middle Ages as far as I am concerned. Yes, I recognize that a person’s professional skills become obsolete over time, but the wisdom and overall knowledge does not. I personally respect anyone who spends years studying the intricacies on a particular subject. They know much more about their topic than almost anyone. I look to them to provide me with the best answers in their particular field.

I am not like them in that I am a so-called “Jack of all Trades” type guy. I am somewhat knowledgeable on several diverse subjects, but I am really not the master of any of them.

Sadly, it seems that there are many around who have little or no respect for wisdom. Of course the most dangerous one in that category is the current Oval Office occupant (#CO3). He seems to think that he is in the 19th century and doesn’t need any “experts”. He thinks he is smarter than anyone else. Of course, the current pandemic and global warming instead shows his abject ignorance in that and many other areas.

Finally, getting to the soul of this post, it seems that the phrase “intellectual elite” has become a dirty word. I just don’t understand that mentality. I would never dream of knowing all the things of the 21st century. Most of those who lack respect for knowledge have very little of it themselves. Because of the disdain for wisdom they think there are always simple solutions to the most complex problems, or if that fails them then the problems just do not exist. They think there is a silver bullet to solve care of everything.

Many of those who have a disdain for intelligence are, due to their ignorance, fearful of many things in today’s society. Instead of listening to the experts who tell them that automated robots can’t do anything that they are not programmed to do. They don’t understand that human beings will never be replaced by machines in areas that require insight and creativity. A machine will never even begin to approach the capabilities of the human brain.

If those who have a contempt for intelligence would get a little of their own they would realize just how little they really know. I believe in the adage

“The more you know the more you realize what you don’t know”

In the coming years it will become clear to all of us that one of our biggest treasures is the intellectual elite among us.