This is a Mark Twain aphorism:
The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning
ain't distributed right.
This is apparently intended to be easily understood, but the connection between fools and lightning is not clear to me.
Is this based on some idiom? Is it to do with being struck by lightning or lightning as a metaphor for a flash of inspiration or luck? I'm leaning towards the former, as lightning must have been a more serious nuisance in those days than it is today, with lightning rods and all.
Best Answer
On its face, I take the underlying meaning of this quip to be "If lightning bolts struck people down according to their deserts, they would target more of the world's idiots".
(I suspect that most of us have some sympathy for this sentiment.)