The Burden of Intelligence

It’s been a while since I’ve actually typed out a “real” blog, and I do apologize for that. I set the bar pretty high in March, and then disappointed terribly in April. Hopefully May will come through in a big way, and I can get back to writing regularly. April was just a funky month for me, mentally, and I’m kind of glad that it’s over.

I have a new favorite player in the NFL, and he’s someone that most of you will probably never have heard of. His name is Myron Rolle, and he was drafted in the 6th round last weekend by the Tennessee Titans. He came out of Florida State, so I already liked him, being the Seminole fan that I am. But Mr. Rolle didn’t play for the Seminoles last year. Last year he was studying at Oxford, courtesy of having been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, pursuing a degree in medical anthropology. He graduated from FSU in 2 ½ years, and played football for the three years he was at the school. Then did a year at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, after which he came back to the States to pursue his career, hopefully, in the NFL.

There are so many problems in the NFL right now (and really, in all sports), as far as character issues, that it is nice to see someone of this stature actually get taken in the league. So, after celebrating last Saturday when he was selected by the Titans, what was the first thing Mr. Rolle heard the analysts talk about? How he really hasn’t shown a commitment to football. When he interviewed with the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, what was the question that the clearly non-Rhodes scholar coach asked him? “How did it feel to desert your teammates last year?” Wow. The guy graduates early, but because he doesn’t throw away an opportunity that only 32 men and women are afforded each year, he has deserted his teammates, and has a lack of commitment?

Maybe that should have been the tack to use against Bill Bradbury (the only former pro-athlete who is also a former Rhodes Scholar) when running against him in elections. Sure, he’s smart and all, but he deserted his teammates for a year when they really could have used him.

Myron Rolle is smart, well-spoken, and charismatic. He’s discussed health care policy with one of those other Rhodes Scholars, Bill Clinton. He plans on using some of the money he makes in the NFL to build a medical clinic in the Bahamas. He should be the person that the NFL should be latching onto as the type of player it wants.

I don’t buy into the race-card very often, but I do wonder if the reception would have been different if Mr. Rolle were white and played quarterback. But he’s black, and plays safety. That type of player is “supposed” to be dumb and pliable. Just shut up and work hard, and you’ll do just fine.

The biggest problem, though, is that he’s smart in a profession that doesn’t value intelligence. Hell, he’s smart in a society that doesn’t value intelligence. Intelligence scares people. When George W. Bush “beat” Al Gore in 2000, the one thing that I heard from SOOO many people was, “Bush just seems like someone I could sit around and drink a beer with”. Gore came across as stuck-up and too smart for the average person to relate to. Bush was just a good ol’ boy. Obviously, we probably should have gone with the smart guy, but hey, intelligence isn’t high up on this country’s priorities.

Intelligence has become a burden in our society. Rather than being lauded as something good and worthy of praise, it causes a backlash from the vast majority of people that don’t possess it. I was fortunate enough to be gifted with a higher level of intelligence than most. But when I was young, it was the single biggest factor in my lack of social skills. I moved around a lot as a kid. When I finally settled into a school in the 3rd grade, I was the kid that blew the bell curve by a mile. So not only was I the “new” kid, but I made everything more difficult for the other kids in class because I was smarter than they were.

Eventually, I learned to “hide” my intelligence. I would act dumb, I wouldn’t try very hard on tests, I would screw up on purpose, all so that I might “fit in” better with the rest of the kids. As soon as I did this, I got a lot more friends. I was “okay” now, because I wasn’t smarter than everyone else. I was “one of the guys”, and it was okay to like me now.

It’s terrible that as a society, we don’t place a higher value on intelligence. Sure, we all want Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, et. al. to continue providing us with the neato magic boxes that make the shiny noises and stuff. But God forbid we should ever actually be associated with nerds like that. We couldn’t be “cool” then.

We’re all living in a world that thinks like a 14-year old, and it’s only getting worse.

Personally, I embrace the people in my life who are intelligent. If they’re smarter than me, I try to learn. If they’re not as smart as me, I try to teach. The world can only be a better place if we’re smart enough to make it so. So I do not question Myron Rolle’s commitment. He could be in medical school right now, and instead, he’s playing a game that will destroy his body in only a few years. More than anyone in his draft class, he understands the risks that he is facing. And he’s doing it anyway. If anything, I believe that makes him MORE committed, not less.