I had to tell a Catholic woman I know, a kind and thoughtful woman, that someone she had known had been a sex abuser. “But how could he have been?” she said, mentioning how nice he had been, and then added, “He was so smart.”
That wasn’t so odd a response as it may seem. We Americans, I think, tend to connect intelligence with insight and wisdom, as if having the first meant having the second, and to connect insight and wisdom with goodness. It’s more instinct and attitude than conviction. We think of Doctor Who more than of Dr. Frankenstein, Gandalf and Galadriel more than Sauron and Saruman. I’ve heard and read a lot of people say what the Catholic woman said.
Read Full Article »