Do you want to be an American idiot?

It occurred to me a few moments ago that it baffles me how insanely intuitive the American people can be, yet at the same time also be complete idiots. I'll deal with the idiot factor in a moment, but I'd like to point out the positive things I see, hear and read from Americans first.

I was reading Craigslist about 40 minutes ago and came across this post in the "rants and raves" section. Basically, it is a response to someone asking what to call blacks in other countries outside of the U.S. and on the continent of Africa. The response asks a good question: What are white-Americans with South African descent called? A prime example would be Dave Matthews and his children. He was born in South Africa, isn't he African-American and his children descendants of Africans? I don't mean this to be derogatory towards any culture or race or anything else, but now it has me asking the same question. The point that I am heading towards is that regardless of this specific issue, I was amazed at the "outside the box" thinking this person used to come up with a question of this nature and that an American opened themselves up to thoughts that are not mainstream. You’ll see how this relates to the idiots a little ways down. Maybe this isn't that far outside, but I haven't heard too many people pose these types of questions about important issues, which is what needs to happen if we are going to move forward in not only American society, but in the human race.

The idiot factor comes into play when generally smart people do stupid things, like vote a moron into a public office. I am not, repeat, NOT referring to anyone in particular because it does not happen in only one place. It happens in villages, towns, cities, counties, states and at the federal level all the same. I am unsure how such unqualified people can manage to win an election. They must have people skills that are well above and beyond those of normal politicians. Normal politicians can talk themselves into or out of anything, but these people must do it so convincingly that they garner thousands of voters in support of their beliefs. It doesn't hurt that many people are lazy and won't bother to research their candidate and will vote for them even though they may oppose things that are important to that individual. It's that one key issue they have talked these people into believing they can take care of it. The rest is just fluff. People should want someone representing them who reflect as many of their beliefs and values as they can, not just one they are good at vocalizing them.

I’ve forgotten where I was headed with all of this, but as you can see, there is a stark contrast in the thought processes of people in this country. Some are willing to think abstractly, while some just plain aren’t thinking! I think I’ll let this issue stew for a little longer in the crock pot of my head and walk down this path at a later time.