Interesting article about Obama supporters in Montana on New York Times.

The Korean will be clear: he only supports Obama because he is the presumptive Democratic nominee. The Korean originally supported Hillary Clinton, and he is still not thrilled about Obama candidacy. (Is the Korean only one who gets reminded of Roh Moo-Hyun's campaign when he sees Obama?) Plus, the Korean is really sick of Obama fan-dom, especially the young kids who lack historical perspective on politics. How are they any different from the misguided Korean students who have fun making a ruckus at anti-U.S. beef protests?

The purpose of linking this article is not about Obama. The Korean put up this article only to make this point: It is almost always a mistake to assume a group of people to be dumb. There may be a group of people who may have been unsophisticated, or uneducated. But there rarely is a group of people who are plain stupid.

In other words, any argument that tracks along the lines of: "I understand the nuances, but I'm afraid some people may not" is almost always wrong, unless the topic involves something highly technical. There is no fictional "some people"who are dumber than you; if you get it, other people will get it as well. In a similar vein, a conclusion like "X group of people are stupid for believing in Y" is also almost always wrong. If a lot of people believe in Y, there is usually a rational reason for it. Lodge your rational disagreement against that reason, and the discussion will become civil as well as constructive. Call the people stupid without bothering to inquire the reason, and the discussion, if any, is destined to be a dumb screech-fest, common on the Internet.