Fools Leading Fools

I have a special contempt for people who think they can fool the world.

These are the people who will tell you that “ordinary people” can’t think.

These are people who also fail to exercise the basic thought required to know that 1) they might not be as extraordinarily intelligent as they think and 2) it only takes one smart person to tell the sheep a wolf is in their midst.

These are people who build their lives and careers on the foundation of playing tricks on the weak-minded. These are people foolish enough to think that this is “winning.”

These are people who want to think that they are the exception and not the rule. These are people who think that their deceptions are clever rather than corrupt. These are people who think they are different from the great liars of history.

These are people who think you are foolish enough to think that you are smarter than the fools, that you are not someone they are trying to fool, too. These are people foolish enough to trust their fellow foolers, or treacherous enough to trust no one.

These are people deserving of the greatest pity. Fools are not so hard to help. But those bent on fooling fools cannot even trust help when it is offered.

Originally published at JamesWalpole.com.