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 or act like us or Love Like Us or Live Like Us the
first thought that crosses almost everyone's brain is rooted in either fear or judgment or both
that's evolution
we survived as a species by being suspicious of things that we aren't familiar with
in order to be kind we have to shut down that animal Instinct and force our brain 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 last few years our society has come to believe

that weaponized cruelty is part of some well-thought-out master plan
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 own 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