The average I.Q. is 100, which means 50 percent of Americans have an I.Q. of 99 or below. That’s not an insult to half the U.S. population – the I.Q. test creators decided that 100 would be the mean number for average intelligence.

Where are these not-so-smart people, we ask. Where do they hide?

And then we see things shared on Facebook and political commercials.

The frustration
Take any hot topic and someone, somewhere, will say something stupid. A viral video had an irate Republican damning President Obama for being simultaneously a Muslim and white-hating Christian. He can’t be a Christian and a Muslim. They’re mutually exclusive. Someone’s brain needs a few more firing synapses.

It’s not whether someone leans left or right – it’s whether they get there by way of logical thinking.

The result
Not-smart people have a sometimes-enviable ability: They easily believe what they want to believe: Facts don’t lead them to conclusions – conclusions lead them to facts. (Sometimes pseudo facts. Sometimes believable lies.)

If Donald Trump says all Muslims should be banned from the U.S., they believe it, providing that’s what they wanted to hear in the first place. The transition from “I’m scared a radical Muslim bombing could target my family” slides into “Keep Muslims out of the country at all costs” and easily blends into the rhetoric of a politician who says “I’ll create a federal squad to keep scary religious groups out.”

Our only option: Accept messiness
Imagine if only intelligent people elected politicians, like a voting test that demanded an I.Q. of 101 or above. Would things be any better? The smarter people who know how to use the economic system (a group that skews rich) to make money would create more laws that favor the rich.

Then imagine only low-I.Q. people choose leaders. The wittiest, best-looking candidate would rule – or worse, the most effective liar, the best singer or the latest reality show star.

The U.S. Constitution was created to “form a more perfect Union.” Stupid wording aside (You can’t have a more perfect anything; there can’t be a “more” if it’s already perfect), the goal is to get closer to perfect with a bottom line belief that perfection can never be achieved. The U.S., or any country, doesn’t exist to serve the kings, presidents, CEOs or smart people with I.Q.s higher than 101.

That means U.S. elections won’t always lead to the best person winning. It means right doesn’t always win over evil. It means the candidate running for political office often looks different than they do once in office.

We need to embrace this lack of perfection. We don’t need to like it, but perfection can’t be reached. If we celebrate the attempt, wallow in the occasional win and keep moving in the generally moral direction, we’ve done all we can.

For our own well being, we must embrace messiness. If we ignore it because it’s messy, it will only get messier.

© 2016 SmithTakes.com