Shall we condone the awfulness of smart people?

Were it not for the past harsh one month and a half, I would probably not have found it relevant to ask this question, so I owe its bitterness a certain something. Well, it started as a helping hand to my husband’s ex-colleague, who needed a temporary place to stay in, while laying the groundwork for their next adventure. It ended up as a violation of my freedom.

In situations where I find myself taken aback by people’s actions, a friend and psychologist likes to remind me that “we are all different”. But no matter how logical it sounds, it slips under my radar that different people have different ethics. In my mind there must be a universal moral code, which transcends cultural, educational and economic backgrounds. It’s not alright to break someone’s favorite tea cup in their own home and never apologize — even if you’re a Harvard graduate of mathematics.

To earn a full scholarship in Harvard, it’s a very big deal indeed and definitely something to boast about for the rest of your life. But when this one element of your adulthood becomes an alibi for everything you do or do not, then 20 years from now you may be sad to find out that all you earned in your life is a graduation from Harvard — while the rest of the world has moved on without your brains.

Being smart shouldn’t stop you from listening to what others have to say — you will be pleasantly surprised to find out that knowledge hasn’t been exhausted at Harvard’s classes. And it should open your horizons instead of raising a humongous Ego.

In the microcosm of my house, I was experiencing what happens out in the real world — everyday, everywhere. When the big fish comes, you would better hide. I ensconced myself in my bedroom of my own five-room home when they, like a marauding gang, were invading my space and abusing my belongings.

So, during the last weeks that I spent with what must be a very smart person when it comes to numbers, I have been divided between the following thought: “Does their intelligence give them the right to be dirty, rude and liars?” And “am I by definition obliged to be a subservient?” Maybe a flashy title on your resume is a good way to grab someone’s attention at a party, but if you are more concerned about establishing strong human relationships and doing some good to this world, you will have to be at least caring, honest and fair.

In a time when hatred is dividing even the most educated and progressed societies, do we really need more smart or more ethical people?

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