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Problems of the West; Too much Inte

lligence, Too Little Wisdom. Part One65
rate or flag this pageTweet thisBy mytipen

It's interesting how intelligence has taken over from wisdom in the workings of
the human society and life. In the good old days, wisdom used to be the quality
of choice that led to the rules and laws that society depended on, and the world
was a whole lot better for it. For those who don't know the difference between
those two qualities - and I don't blame you if you are one of them - here are a
definition of each.
Intelligence is defined as the capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding a
nd similar forms of mental activity; aptitude for grasping truths, facts, meanin
gs, etc. The antonym or opposite of intelligence is stupidity.Wisdom is defined
as the quality or state of being wise; experience and knowledge Together with th
e power of applying them critically or practically; sagacity, discernment, or in
sight. The antonym or opposite of wisdom is Ignorance.From the definitions, it c
an be discerned that while intelligence is a quality anyone can have, wisdom is
something deeper. Wisdom requires experience to attain while intelligence doesn'
t. A child can be intelligent because it's quick to grasp stuff but can't be cal
led wise because it doesn't have the experience needed. This will also mean that
you can be intelligent without being wise but you can't be wise without being i
ntelligent.
The truth about today's western world is that more and more of the laws that gui
de our society are being crafted and enacted using intelligence alone. Hundreds
of such laws exist and have already started working against the interests of the
society which they are supposed to be serving. The first of such laws that I am
going to tackle is the one that prevents parents from inculcating discipline on
their children and rather, it appears, hands that responsibility to the governm
ent or state. This law is crafted solely from intelligence which tells us, and r
ightly in some cases, that abuse can occur from parents trying to impart discipl
ine on their offspring. A wise rendering of this law would have considered the i
mplications of throwing the baby away with the bath water which is what the law
does. But because it's only intelligence working, it forgets the wise saying tha
t you spoil the child when you spare the rod and vice versa.
It's very nice to say don't touch the children, no matter what, because you migh
t abuse them but it's not wise because that law fails to consider what ultimatel
y happensto children who grow up on their own without parental discipline to gui
de them. It's clear from what we see in every facet of today's society that havi
ng our kids grow u on their own affects all they do in life. This is because the
y lack the most important ingredient to a successful adulthood and life which is
discipline. Without iscipline, a child is less likely to stay in school. And ev
en when they stay in school, they are less likely to learn because learning cann
ot take place in classrooms here there is a lack of discipline. That's one of th
e major reasons that keep children from the west from doing as well, educational
ly, as their counterparts from other civilized countries. When teachers have to
beg children in order to be able to educate them, you won't have much educating
taking place.
This law also fails to consider the ultimate fates of such children who end up b
eing visited with the ultimate abuse by the government or state. For example, mo
st of them end up being shot to death, put to death by different means or locked
up for life by the government's agents. Wisdom would dictate that we would rath
er "abuse" our children by administering a few well placed spanks when they misb
ehave than letting them grow up into wild animals without any form of discipline
only to have them shot at, killed or incarcerated for life by the government or
state. If we are worried about abuse, which is the greater abuse? A spanking or
a bullet?
The wise course to follow can only be the parent administered discipline rather
than the â Intelligentâ government or state administered one. The reason for this is
simply because the parents are the ones who are there with the kids at all times
and who can nip any bad behavioral traits in the bud. The government is too rem
ote and don't get to see any of those misbehaviors until they have become too ba
d to manage effectively. That's why they have no choice but to bring the kind of
force they use. Wisdom will tell you that It's always better to nip any sort of
problem in the bud than to let it grow to where it will need a bigger force to
handle. That is what the parent administered spank can do. But intelligence will
tell you that it doesnâ t matter because of a few cases of abuse that could be tak
en care of as they arise.
All of the points I articulate here are more pronounced when the child involved
is from a poor family - and poor is a term you can use to describe a majority of
the families today. This is because temptation is higher on the side of childre
n without means, who can't afford most of the basic needs for a reasonable stand
ard of life. This constant need, or lack, makes it imperative for hands- on pare
ntal discipline in order for them not to stray. Children from rich families do n
ot have these basic needs and therefore, are less likely to stray. For example,
they don't have the temptation to deal drugs in order that they can afford basic
needs like food and clothing for themselves and their siblings. As a result, th
ey don't need the same amount of hands on pressure in order to stay in school an
d away from the streets. Besides, they can afford the best private schools where
other rich kids attend and where they don't have to deal with the negative peer
pressure that can be exerted on them by undisciplined poor kids.
However, this is not saying that kids from rich homes don't need discipline. The
y do and they'remore likely to get it than kids from poor homes. A major reason
for this is because rich kids live in private houses with their parents as oppos
ed to poor kids who mostly live in public housing without any form of privacy. R
ich parents with their own houses are more likely to spank their kids in the pri
vacy of their homes without the fear of the prying neighbor calling the police o
n them. They take good advantage of this fact and their kids are the better for
it. Also, rich parents have more respect in the eyes of their children for the s
imple reason that the children know that they have more to lose if they're disow
ned. Poor kids don't have that fear. Another reason is that children who are com
fortable don't need as much hands on discipline as those that are not. "A hungry
man is an angry man"
How many of us adults look at our kids today and wonder what the future holds fo
r our countries? How many people see the abject lack of respect for anybody or a
nything and worry? How many people see the worrying selfishness, with no thought
s for the next person, of these kids and worry? How many people see the dwindlin
g numbers of kids getting an education and worry? And yet, how many people see t
he increasing numbers of these kids dying from youth violence or from cops bulle
ts and worry? How many people see the greater numbers of our kids that are being
incarcerated and worry? How many of us wonder whether it wouldnâ t be worth a pare
nt's spanking if these numbers of more serious, and sometimes, deadly state infl
icted abuse can be reduced? I know that I do and I believe that most adults do a
lso. I know that many adults worry that the children we are breeding today might
not be able to run the country tomorrow if things keep going the way they are.
If we worry about these issues can we do anything about it? Is there a way we ca
n change this law and make sure that such laws are not enacted on our behalf by
the rich people who those laws donâ t affect. When you see that these laws donâ t affe
ct the rich, it makes you begin to wonder if such laws are not made on purpose i
n order to keep the poor people forever poor but thatâ s a topic for another day. W
hat we can do is change such laws that are not working the way we expect them. W
e are the people and we own the country. Our laws are made for us and not the ot
her way round. Therefore, we reserve the right to change any laws that are not w
orking in our favor. We make the laws, there are no reasons why we canâ t unmake th
em if we need to. Thatâ s something else that wisdom tells you. Itâ s intelligence tha
t tries to make it look like laws are cast in stone and cannot be changed. The s
ooner we start relying more on wisdom than on intelligence, the better our lives
and our society will become.