Brains verses Beauty

I'm extremely tired today. This was running through my head last night and hopefully it will make some sense as an exhausted ramble.

I know, as a country, we put a lot of value on how someone looks. I do not think it is healthy nor fair. In an effort to fix this, it seems we are now pushing the value of being smart, especially to girls. I wonder if we are creating a similar monster. Just as people come in all sizes and shapes, people come with varying IQs. Replacing someone's value based on one thing they have little control over with another doesn't seem right to me.

I want to be clear that I'm not suggesting that people shouldn't be educated. I think everyone benefits from more education. I just have a problem sending a message that someone's value is dependent on how naturally smart (or smarter than others) they are. I don't think anyone's self esteem should be based on how smart they are any more than it should be based on how good-looking they are. And I think being pretty is just as much as an accomplishment as being smart, and vice-verse. Why can't we just accept that people come with different genes and talents. Some people are pretty, some are smart, some are athletic, some are naturally social. A pretty person who works hard and becomes a super model has succeeded just as much as a smart person who becomes a physicist or an athletic person who plays in the NBA. The admiration should come from what people have done with what they have, rather than what they were born with.

Call me crazy, but what if we actually valued someone's character. What if, as a society, we taught that being a good person is more important than being pretty, smart, athletic or successful. Instead of seeing success as being a super model, scientist, or athlete, we see successful people as being  kind, honest and hard working. In reality, this is where we all start on the most equal playing field, so success in this area is actually based on what you do not something out of your control.

No matter what skills or circumstances you were born with, everyone is equally capable of making choices that will build strong character and lead them to be kind and generous. Honestly, I think this would solve the self-esteem issues more than any thing else. How great would a society be that doesn't say one person is better than another based on smarts or looks or natural abilities, rather our collective character is such that we value each person for what they contribute or their hard work in any area regardless of natural ability. Let's stop comparing ourselves with arbitrary criteria and instead, build and support each other in our differences.