Sometimes when I think about Ancient Athens...

I have this misconception that everyone at that time and place were all in favor of reason and philosophy, logic, etc. but then I think about it, and I think the mix of people was probably a lot like it is today, at least generally. That is, back then, while many people saw the gods of Olympus as metaphorical, I'm sure there were many who still believed that they were very real and took their presence very seriously. I think that by concentrating on the secularism of Akademeia in our studies, that I have this bias that most everyone back then were critical thinkers. And so now, I feel like this insight gives me reign to imagine importing the stupidity so prevalent today and put it into the Greek context.

A friend of mine from high school, who is a really really nice guy, but not very bright and would have trouble reasoning himself out of a paper bag, is now a middle school English teacher and town selectman (A voting executive council). It boggles my mind that this type of person is so attracted to government. And this is prevalent all throughout the American system. We elect stupid people because we ourselves are stupid. I don't mean this pejoratively, as much as it is an evaluation. Nor do I mean it critically, just that we wonder why we have the types of problems we have, and I'm pretty sure it's related to the fact we must elect people who believe Zeus will strike them down if they don't vote a particular way. This is not a commentary on religion, either. I am not aware of my friend's religious beliefs, but I think there is some correlation to this phenomenon of stupidity and believing in absurd powers.

Comments welcome. This is not a debate, but a jumping point for discussion. I currently take no hardline side on these thoughts and will change them accordingly to any discussion that results.

EDIT: I think I was trying to use the ideas of faith and religion as an example of the nature of stupidity in this context, not that it defines it. I think the real nature of stupidity is bias, combined with, as DaimonicPossession pointed out: "...people refuse to question their most important assumptions"