On the Matter of Cruelty, Kindness and Idiots
Useful insights for the new year from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
Happy New Year!
Before we careen into the political madness of this utterly consequential year in the life of America—riven with cruelty and violence, bigotry, lies and methodical disinformation—I want to pause one more time on the topic of kindness. This comes courtesy of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in a commencement address to Northwestern University graduates in June. I was slow to find this, but I’m glad I did.
He was there to offer insights that the freshly minted alums could carry into the real world. Chief among his observations: “When someone’s path through this world is marked with acts of cruelty, they have failed the first test of an advanced society. They never forced their animal brain to evolve past its first instinct.” Advanced society, in contrast, prizes kindness.
Here’s more of what Pritzker had to say on cruelty, kindness and idiots:
I wish there was a foolproof way to spot idiots. But counterintuitively some idiots are very smart. They can dazzle you with words and misdirection. They can get promoted above you at work. They can even be elected President. If you want to be successful in this world, you have to develop your own idiot detection system.
As part of the responsibilities of being your commencement speaker, I’m going to share mine. Sure, I’m naturally suspicious of people who never saw the original Star Wars movies and even more cautious of people who loved the prequels and sequels. But I admit this is not a reliable idiot indicator.
The best way to spot an idiot—look for the person who is cruel. Let me explain. When we see someone who doesn’t look like us or sound like us, act like us, love like us or live like us, the first thought in everyone’s brain is rooted in fear or judgment—or both.
That’s evolution. We survived as a species by being suspicious of things we aren’t familiar with. In order to be kind, we have to shut down that animal instinct and force our brains to travel a different pathway. Empathy and compassion are evolved states of being. They require the mental capacity to step past our most primal urges. This may be a surprising assessment because somewhere along the way in the past few years, our society has come to believe that weaponized cruelty is part of some well-thought-out masterplan.
Cruelty is seen by some as an adroit cudgel to gain power. Empathy and kindness are considered weak. Many important people look at the vulnerable only as rungs on a ladder to the top. I’m here to tell you that when someone’s path through this world is marked with acts of cruelty, they have failed the first test of an advanced society. They never forced their animal brain to evolve past its first instinct.
They never forged new mental pathways to overcome their instinctual fears and so their thinking and problem-solving will lack the imagination and creativity that the kindest people have in spades. Over my many years in politics and business, I have found one thing to be universally true: The kindest person in the room is often the smartest.
This year we can expect plenty of “weaponized cruelty” and exploitation of the vulnerable to gain power. Our response cannot be simply to ignore it, excuse it or go gentle.
Quite the contrary: The extreme effort underway to return the levers of power to a malignant criminal and insurrectionist bent on retribution and ending democracy demands maximum attention and toughness. But that doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our humanity or our commitment to the pursuit of an advanced society.
The responsibility each of us has to defeat Donald Trump and the Trump Republicans could not be clearer. This is not about partisanship, rather an American commitment to saving democracy. Our failure portends a fascistic future that we have only begun to fully absorb. But let’s not doubt: As the majority, it remains in our power to ensure a better, kinder outcome—a momentous 2024 of which we all can be proud.
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“The kindest person in the room is often the smartest”. I’ve found this to be true.
Thanks for sharing. The governor nailed it. So-called “leaders” who berate subordinates, who shout and publicly chastise folks, are not leaders and will ultimately fail. They are not strong--they are weak and seek to cover their weakness with bluster and bullying.
I am a retired Air Force Major General. I learned from the best and made every effort to treat everyone with kindness and respect, even as I demanded excellence, integrity and accountability. I was not the exception among my peers: I merely reflected the culture we corporately created.