Once upon a time while covering the Idaho Legislature, I noticed something odd about lawmakers walking out of the state capitol on their way to lunch.
And I don’t mean something odd in an Idaho way, something like not eating a baked potato for lunch. They all do that, of course. I spotted something that may apply to politicians in general. As I was walking among a large flock of the legislators I noticed that they were almost all shorter than I was or taller than I was. No more than a handful of all those 105 politicians were of average height like me.
At the time, I was middle-aged and still a stunning 5 foot 9 inches tall, which happened to be the average height for a United States male at the time. Today, at a more advanced age, the politicians have finally worn me down. I have settled – literally – into old age, an inch shorter than I used to be.
Not only have I lost an inch, but the average height in this country has risen by at least an inch, leaving me two inches on the low side of average.
But why were those earlier legislators almost all taller or shorter than my once-average height?
My educated guess is that the stark division between small and tall in that legislature was driven by the nature of successful politicians. For instance, tall people tend to win elections because a person’s chances are heightened if he literally stands out in the crowd.
For good measure, big people have an air of dominance about them that creates an illusion of strength, a trait that is generally popular with voters.
But why then do so many short people get elected who not only don’t stand out in a crowd but who literally get overshadowed?
My guess is a Napoleonic complex. Some smaller men tend to try harder as a way of compensating for their physical shortcomings. They are more likely to assert themselves, to be loud overachievers, to be peppy and eager. Voters like that.
Average-sized people, on the other hand, are average in both directions – tall enough to get by in life without depending on extreme height and not so short that they develop exhausting hyperactive personalities.
We average-sized people tend to be like centrist voters. We are calmer than those on the far left and the far right, but we’re a lot more boring. So we get less press. A man who bites a dog can get a headline, but so can a dog that bites a man. People who don’t bite anyone at all are too dull to be noticed by much of the press, even if they are in the majority.
I noticed the other day in a shopping center that giants were marching through the building again as they do in huge numbers these years. Not only are there millions of extremely tall men in our current world, but their wives also tend to be strikingly tall.
And short men mostly marry women no taller than they are. That means that two short mates share short genes and intensify a body type when they have children, producing shorter and shorter people.
Meanwhile, another substantial portion of the population is producing a race of taller and taller people.
To an average-sized person, it’s like living in “Gulliver’s Travels,” a world overflowing with tiny people and giants.
But if you’re just an average person, chances are, your state and federal legislators will clobber you if you ever get up the energy to run against them in an election.
Bill Hall may be contacted at wilberth@cableone.net or at 1012 Prospect Ave., Lewiston, ID 83501
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