Confidence - Part two

In life, I have been baffled by many mysteries. Among many of them, I am most puzzled by the dumb who teach to the smart; the un-liked who act as social queens and kings; the fat and ugly who flaunt their aesthetic distastefulness to everyone around them.

In this school of ours, it is not uncommon to find cases where a 3-student comes to a 7-student and begins to faultily endeavor to teach him about things he already understands, or when an inappropriately opiniated person attempts to equate himself to intellectuals while only making himself seem even more dumber.

One of the problem with people nowadays is that they are simply too kind. They are encouraging, heartening the inept by saying that they are in fact talented and simply need training, when the very reality is that these people are truly unintelligent. But shouldn’t people instead be honest while being gentle, admitting the existence of flawed human beings and the idea that some people are only gifted in particular areas, rather than planting inappropriate confidence in those who ought not to have it? It seems like a harsh stab in the gut, but to me, it’s much better to put people in their places rather than turning them into lunatics.

I, for one, believe that people ought to have their own places in society, realize what they are, and remain in their appropriate places. Intellectuals ought to be people with actual intellectual capacities; artists should know a thing or two about aesthetics; fashion editors shouldn’t look like drag queens.

It is when confidence is displaced - when those who are undeserving of it possess it - do we experience trouble. So where do we go from here – make the stupid think they are smart, or put them in their rightful places?