Dwain Northey (Gen X)

This saying has been an often-repeated phase as of late and I absolutely agree with the sentiment but am not certain how to deal with the rampant stupidity. Agreed it is very difficult to fix stupid, but do we need to even engage stupid or just politely walk away. I am assured that I am not the only person that encounters the deep dark recesses of dumbness and situation by situation it is always to judgment call whether to engage to dumb, challenge it, or just stay quiet.   

If your child says something ridiculous as a parent, you are obligated to challenge the statement because we all know that if unchallenged that dumbness will fester and grow into even more ludicrous thoughts. Do we, as a society, have the obligation to challenge at least some of the stupid shit that is spewed at us on a regular basis? That is a hard call. The other untold truth about ingrained stupidity is that when challenged it may become violent. Idiots don’t like it when their idiocy is pointed out, especially in group settings.

My dilemma is that just like children if stupidity goes unchecked it spreads like the common cold. One of the Third Reich’s propaganda tools was to tell a lie so big, so absurd, that some would believe that there was no way that anyone would make it up, then they repeated it until especially of the lie went unchallenged. We all remember the Kelley Anne Conway ‘alternative facts’ line, its not a lie it just alternative facts. Sorry when I was a kid bull shit was called bull shit there was not counter argument.

We survived 4 years with a blowhard in the White House that couldn’t go five minutes without spewing his version of reality, ‘alternative facts’, and he is still doing it. Sadly, far too many people don’t verify the facts and those that do are unwilling to the challenge the bullies that rapid fire repeat the propagandized lie. The truth has become partisan, which it never should be, the truth is true, and a lie is a lie no matter what side of the isle it comes from.

We have let nonsense become mainstream, now there are flat earthers, science deniers, those that will tell you with a straight face, and one is the Speaker of the House, that the earth is 6,000 years old. We can’t fix stupid be as a thinking rational person I feel we have at least some obligations to challenge it, throw facts, statistics, even logic in stupid’s face, stupid won’t like it but maybe if it is challenged enough stupid won’t be a stupid.

Thanks for putting up with another rant… feel free to interject any suggestion on how to combat the dumb in our world today.