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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIs anyone else as shallow as I am? (Looks in politics.)
I saw Rep Eric Swalwell for the first time a couple of days ago and immediately thought, "Hmmm... is he being showcased as a possible pres candidate?" I thought this strictly on the basis of his looks. CNN was on mute. He seemed a little stiff, and I'm really gun shy after having been suckered in by John Edwards. But it got me to wondering if a person's looks should have any place at all in our thinking. I would hope not, but does it matter? I'm afraid I really do want a tall person, if it's a man. I think the stats are overwhelming on that front.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Bucky
(53,795 posts)You'd be surprised at how deep the thinking runs in the fact-free community
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Bucky
(53,795 posts)There's a bigger risk of becoming a Republican from convoluted thinking than from overly simple thinking. Some of the IHOP/MIHOP wankers are quite intelligent, but simply not properly discriminating when it comes to how real life conspiracies would work. I have a brilliant engineering friend, a very compassionate and loyal man, who also happens to be a gun nut and libertarian. We've argued till we're blue in the face sometimes--he's no slouch at it. But he simply deludes himself with muddled thinking--a result of too much intelligence, if not enough wisdom, not a result of poor intelligence.
If anything, smart people are more likely to be stuck in a narrow ideology because they have the intellectual firepower to back up their faulty biases. It's rationalization rather than rationality, but there's probably some conservative genius out there saying the same thing about me.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Bucky
(53,795 posts)dchill
(38,321 posts)Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee that makes him a how-to these days.
old guy
(3,281 posts)we all know that it is not. As much as I try I still find that I let looks influence some of my opinions. It's called being human I guess. I do try.
FSogol
(45,357 posts)tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)he's quite astute as well!
LakeArenal
(28,729 posts)But we really can't name them because it really is hurtful and shallow....
Bucky
(53,795 posts)And I'll laugh while they cry!!
Ha ha, seriously, I've observed that Republicans tend to nominate a disproportionate number of conventionally attractive candidates. Good lookin' people tend to get a lot of extra breaks in life. That alone runs the risk of dulling the human capacity for empathy.