We tend to consider intelligence as the primary solution: the government and politicians have more information and, therefore, should make wiser decisions. Yet, we find our elected leaders obscuring evidence, colluding and manipulating messaging, repeatedly (obviously) fucking up, and blaming others.
For the survival of our democracy, we are supposed to be intelligent enough, wise enough, and parental enough to see through it: we are required to vote better, be better, to alter the bureaucratic state.
The fault is placed back onto the citizens to do better.
But we have every right to be as stupid and misguided as those in charge. They are surrounded by an edifice of checks, balances, advisors, and responsibility oaths, while we work two jobs and consume politics over beers.
We are praised as smart when we are manipulable, and told we are dumb (wrong-headed) when we don’t accept the lies.