We Live in the Golden Age of Stupidity

Stupidity is always amazing, no matter how used to it you become. - Jean Cocteau

George Rebane

So argues Lance Morrow, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and former Boston University journalism professor, in the 30aug21 WSJ (here).  Morrow introduces a slightly different aspect of stupidity than the one used in these pages.  (Here ignorance denotes a lack of specific knowledge, and stupid denotes the cognitive inability to process knowledge.  Only the former is correctible.)  Functionally, Morrow’s ‘stupidity’ is the same, but applied wholesale to large masses of people.  He immediately opens with –

We live in a golden age of stupidity. It is everywhere. President Biden’s conduct of the withdrawal from Afghanistan will be remembered as a defining stupidity of our time—one of many. The refusal of tens of millions of people to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus will be analyzed as a textbook case of stupidity en masse. Stupid is as stupid does, or, in the case of vaccination, as it doesn’t do. Stupidity and irresponsibility are evil twins.

As we have shown for years, the American Left has dedicated itself to 1) creating wholesale ignorance through our public schools, and 2) promoting the stupid in their ranks to enduring positions of power.  The former to create generations of compliant constituents, the latter to generate, promote, and maintain insane and/or dysfunctional public policies in their jurisdictions.  The confluence of both creates the stupidity, as described by Morrow, that ensures the expansion and calcification of monopolistic autocracy in the body politic.  The evidence for this abounds and is available to a shrinking cohort of Americans; to the remainder it is the acceptable norm, socially just, and the ‘American way’.

Until the arrival of mass media (i.e. radio circa 1920) history tells us that we Americans were extremely political animals, participating in extensive discussions of the issues, political corruption, impactive legislation, and election campaigns at all levels.  Newspapers with their editorials and political cartoons (e.g. see Thomas Nast: His Period and His Pictures, 1904) were devoured in detail on Main Street, church suppers, and in Grange meetings.  Everyone had some pertinent knowledge of current events and issues – it was a sought honor to be known as a ‘person of information’. 

With the advent of radio, the consumption of print communications began a downward slide that continues to this day.  Radio allowed a few strong (and well-funded) voices to be heard far and wide, with the result that the diversity and debate of opinions diminished as the American mind began to coalesce into something more homogenous in outlook and interpretative skills.  It became easier to flip a switch, lean back, and effortlessly absorb what everyone else did, than to pore through pages of small print.

As mass media multiplied through coast-to-coast radio, television, cable, and internet, our attention and homogeneity were supported and directed by monied interests, and finally constrained by new forms of corporatist censorship, both explicit (e.g. on social media) and implicit (e.g. academe).  Concurrently, the advent of professional sports competitions broadcast nationwide provided perhaps the best diversion for Americans who now came to eschew national affairs as something uncomfortably distasteful and not worthy of inclusion when polite company assembled.  ‘I don’t discuss politics’ or ‘I try to avoid politics’ became the mantra for people seeking to project higher sensibilities.  But having a favorite baseball or football team, and discussing/debating their fortunes, players, and owners became an acceptable pastime in any company, and participation declared that you were a ‘regular guy’ (or woman) and at one with the people.

The political classes promoted such diversions since it camouflaged many if not most of the stupid things politicians continued doing with public policies as government began its relentless growth with the Great Depression.  Many people, ranging from the late ‘conspiracy theorist’ Bill Cooper to scholar and historian Victor Davis Hanson, have devoted their careers to alert America to how we as the people (“idiots”) are diverted by government handouts of bread and promotion of circuses, managed mainly through the mass media.  We regularly see our streets filled with thousands of sports fans celebrating a team victory that has a minimum impact on their lives, and care more about the proclivities of a sports star than take notice of what is said when a select group of the powerful and wealthy gather in Davos or Jackson Hole to discuss how they will shape our world.

To Lance Morrow “stupidity is one of life’s big mysteries, like evil, like love, an ineffable thing. You cannot exactly define it, but you know it when you see it, as Justice Potter Stewart said of pornography. It takes many forms. Stupidity is entitled to no moral standing whatever, and yet it sits in a place of honor at the tables of the mighty; it blows in their ears and whispers promises.”

As mentioned above, my own assessment is that stupidity can be defined on both retail and wholesale scales, but in some cases it may be difficult to identify if we don’t know the knowledge base that is to be processed to yield a conclusion/decision.

Morrow’s ‘Unified Field Theory of Stupidity’ postulates that its rise is due to the “death of privacy” that came about with the “subversion of manners and authority (two of the great casualties of the 1960s)”.  In the 21^st century all this was “ensured by the stupendously intrusive capabilities of Big Tech”.  Morrow concludes his apologetic on mass stupidity with –

The death of manners and privacy, I argue, are profoundly political facts that, combined with other facts, lead, eventually, to an entire civilization of stupidity. It’s a short ride from stupidity to madness. Soon people aren’t quite people anymore; they are cartoons and categories. And “identities.” The media grow feral. Genitals became weirdly public issues; the sexes subdivide into 100 genders. Ideologues extract sunbeams from cucumbers. They engage in what amounts to an Oedipal rebellion against reality itself.

So there you have it - stupidity examined from a more sophisticated perspective and perch than what my own humble attempts have been to identify and expose it on the individual level.  Alternative explanations for our communal insanity are welcome as always.

Comments

[RXCross]

yes we sure do.. climate denial, Trump won the election, election fraud, insurrection, ivermectin and Clorox, anti-vax and mask. the list of stupid beliefs goes on and on. However, there is a definite relationship between the afore mentioned and conservative voters which indicates, to people who are actually paying attention and take off their rose tinted glasses, that certain information outlets like Fox new, Newsmax, etc. along with multiple radio shows and blogs are not serving the people's needs for accurate information, but are instead dumbing down a significant portion of the population with misinformation. It is the people's fault for buying into it or the media outlets for selling it because they will all do almost say anything to make a buck?

"the people (“idiots”) are diverted by government handouts of bread". In your mind, does this statement include handouts to corporations like fossil fuel subsidies, bank bailouts, and so on? Considering the fact that a large percentage of full time low wage workers from places like Walmart have to rely on food stamps to feed their families, would that be considered a handout to the workers or a handout to the corporations who skimp on wages and benefits forcing people to rely on gov't handouts?

[fishniglio]

Posted by: Roberta Cross | 30 August 2021 at 02:19 PM

When did you get back from Baltimore.....?

[Scott O]

Mr X decides to agree with George and even provide proof of his own stupidity.
"climate denial, Trump won the election, election fraud, insurrection, ivermectin and Clorox, anti-vax and mask. the list of stupid beliefs goes on and on."
Quite a list.
Perhaps Mr X could come back later when the drugs wear off and explain the 'list'.
Believing in Ivermectin and Chlorox is stupid?
They are common products sold for years.
"...anti-vax and mask..."??!!
Hard to tell exactly what Mr X is ranting about.
"climate denial"
What the hell is 'climate denial'?
Who has denied there is a climate?
Ah, well.

[Scott O]

Here's a great example of foaming at the mouth stupidity:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/dont-negotiate-with-trumps-disease-spreading-zombie-army?ref=home
Now - the rant is filled with statements that are untrue, but I really don't believe he's lying. He just sounds like a rabid left wing fool. Of course he's given up 'negotiating' because it's a hard thing to do when you are stupid.
I love the part about how we conservatives aren't going to be 'coddled' any more. What changes that will entail is left to the imagination.
The best is probably the usual repetition about how American's are in danger of loosing their voting rights.
How that is going to happen is left (per usual) unsaid.
Just keep repeating the mantra and perhaps enough stupid people will start to believe it.
I could have sworn the left said that covid would kill off all the conservative white Christians.
How's that coming along?

[Don Bessee]

How nice of them to tell us -

David Shepardson
Mon, August 30, 2021, 2:37 PM
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kabul airport is without air traffic control services now that the U.S. military has withdrawn from Afghanistan, and U.S. civil aircraft are barred from operating over the country unless given prior authorization, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Monday

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/faa-says-kabul-airport-now-213729303.html

;-)

[George Rebane]

RXC 219pm - When I posted this, my thoughts settled on you and your colleague Mr Frisch in the hopes that at least one of you would contribute to this comment stream. Thank you for your prompt and extremely edifying contribution, without which we would have had nothing corroborative to cite as a handy reference.

[RXCross]

Great George.. I'm so glad you think of me. It is very gratifying at least to know that my musings piss you off enough for you to respond, even if it is in your snarky way of avoiding the issues. Now, what about the questions I posted? Do you care to respond or obfuscate some more as did your other posters?

1). Many Republican controlled states have their asses in a bundle with covid outbreaks mostly infecting the unvaccinated? Do you think their sources of information or their political leaders play a role in this debacle?
2). Do you think fossil fuel subsidies, bank bailouts, and so on are "government handouts of bread" or is that label just reserved for food stamp and social service recipients?
3). Are low wage employers whose employees rely on food stamps and other forms of gov't assistance to feed and take care of their families receiving "government handouts of bread" because taxpayers are making up the difference between living
wages and what they pay?

These are pretty simple questions even fishy and Scotty can understand..

[George Rebane]

RXCross 704pm - I have answered all of these questions multiple times in the 14 years of this blog. I'm sorry that I have not done it clearly enough for you to understand. Go find one of my many answers to your questions and then dispute it/them. I will answer.

[fishniglio]

Posted by: Roberta Cross | 30 August 2021 at 07:04 PM

How was Baltimore fat girl?

[fishniglio]

Or maybe not Fat Girl.....maybe Ben Girl.......Fat Girl only gave a crap about the poor for the purposes of virtue signaling!

Inquiring minds want to know??

[fishniglio]

Punchy....you should drop by the opinion section for the Pennysaver of the Pines if you want to comment! All the cool geriatric kids are there! I see Denny, I see Drue, I see my namesake Steveniglio...that silly old Morlock.....pale, flabby bastard that he is!!

You should drop by....find a receptive audience for your weaselly Biden Defense!

All for now!

[Bill Tozer]

Robert Cross

Man...er....Person, you need to keep up with the times. You always have been more wrong than Punchy, which is a feat no one else has accomplished.

“insurrection...the list of stupid beliefs goes on and on.”

Well, the FBI report said Trump did nothing wrong, there was no planned insurrection, and there was no evidence found despite 487 something arrests that lead to one shred of evidence pointing to anything that could be ever be considered an ‘insurrection’. In sum, there was no, zero, nilch, insurrection. X-nay to the insurrection, but you already knew that. Wait, you did not know that? Well, embrace the truth and the truth will set you free.

Hey, what ever happened to the tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Ave and Trumpfassen going to declare martial law on the 4th of July and declared himself dictator for life? To show your face around here after than takes some major defense mechanisms.

As far as the old old Walmart song and dance for not paying their employees what you think they should be paying, well, go find Brother Ben and the two of you can gab for hours, days, weeks. At one time, Wal-Mart bashing was Ben’s one trick pony, and especially Sam Walton's heirs who have no business whatsoever having that much unearned mula. It’s a moral outrage.

Can’t relate. I have not spend 5 minutes of my life complaining about how much money someone has or does not have. It’s none of my business what the Walton kids do with their ones or how they choose to spend it or if they light bonfires of 100 dollar bills with $25,000 diamond encased cigarette lighters. As long as it is legal, it’s fine with me.

You and Ben should read the first Soviet Union constitution. It addresses all that class envy that consumes you. Or, just send Bernie some more money to fix everything, including the ripped seat on his private winged thing that flies in the sky.

Or just read the French Green Party Platform.

Opps, strike that. Last time Brother Ben was over here, he was bitching about so e dude who started Microsoft in his garage. HS grad. Forget his name. Ben has moved on from Sam Walton. Maybe you should update your rift to include Zuckenberg or or Bezos. Get up to speed, Roberta X. Sam Walton is sooo yesterday’s trash. Hillary sat on the board of Wal-Mart when her husband was the AG of Arkansas.

The time before Bill Gates bashing, Brother Ben was talking about the barter system. Trading some deck boards for an old bucket of paint or something. He thought that was a grand solution to your money problems. You won’t go far on your looks, so maybe the barter system will help with your class envy. Envy, like the green headed monster jealousy, are such ugly human emotions.

Please try keep up Bobbie Sue. Class Warfare is sooo 2008. It’s all about racial warfare now.

Love ya. Keep your mangina dry and fresh as an ocean breeze. You never know when your fortunes will change and you might get lucky. You deserve it, By Golly.

[Bill Tozer]

Anyone Who Believes Jan. 6 Was an ‘Insurrection’ is An Idiot

[Scott O]

BT 8:58 - Anyone that starts banging on about a "living wage" is just spouting a common left wing talking point they picked up at Mother Jones or some other intelligence deficient web site.
They have no idea of what the hell a 'living wage' is.
It's just a bumper sticker thought that is easy for them to spout.
The left has always had the need for the stupid. Stupid people live by slogans they paste on their cars. They can't carry on a conversation or debate about it because they haven't got a clue.
The sorriest part is they actually believe the "rich" all live like Scrooge McDuck with a giant vault filled with mountains of gold and bags of money. They are quite certain that with the proper taxation system, the 'rich' will balance the budget, pay off the natl debt and provide free health care and all schooling costs for everyone from cradle to grave.
They have no idea of how much all that will cost, but are quite certain it will all magically work.
It's been proven over and over to never work, but we are living in the Golden Age Of Stupidity.

[Bill Tozer]

The Importance of Stakeholders to Profitability

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/08/the-importance-of-stakeholders-to-profit/

[Bill Tozer]

Might be on topic......

‘Bad Moon Rising for Biden — and Us’

https://buchanan.org/blog/bad-moon-rising-for-biden-and-us-154364

[Bill Tozer]

Biden’s Presidency Is Already A Total Disaster, And It’s All His Own Fault
President Biden is not being swept along by the currents of history, he is turning every challenge he faces into crisis and disaster

https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/31/bidens-presidency-is-already-a-total-disaster-and-its-all-his-own-fault/

We do live in the Golden Age of Stupidity
https://i2.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2021/07/IMG_1819.jpeg?w=945&ssl=1

https://i2.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2021/08/image-3-copy-5.jpg?w=960&ssl=1

[Jose Peyote]

"The Left lie. That’s what they do. It’s practically all they do. In order for their bizarre upside-down worldview to make even the slightest bit of sense they have to lie about all manner of things; about the human condition, about history, about reality itself."

- B.B.Dade

[scenes]

Sign of the times.

https://twitter.com/NaveedAJamali/status/1434707031924121602

"Also @RepMcCaul was absolutely incorrect as characterizing any of these people as hostages. There is nobody being denied exit of the country, or being detained on a plane. Instead the Taliban has not granted clearance for the planes to leave."

[scenes]

more from our good friend Mr. Jamali (he/they/?)

"Also the PLANES are being denied clearance, not the PEOPLE. Yes that is a pretty big distinction."

[scenes]

re:ivermectin

https://archive.is/AoHxH

"SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA, Okla. (KFOR) – A rural Oklahoma doctor said patients who are taking the horse de-wormer medication, ivermectin, to fight COVID-19 are causing emergency room and ambulance back ups.
“There’s a reason you have to have a doctor to get a prescription for this stuff, because it can be dangerous,” said Dr. Jason McElyea."

https://sanangelolive.com/news/health/2021-09-05/nexstar-tv-station-reporter-starts-panic-over-ivermectin

"OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — On September 1, a Nexstar affiliate in Oklahoma City published a poorly sourced article that claimed hospitals in eastern Oklahoma are overwhelmed with ivermectin overdoses and do not have the capacity to treat gunshot victims. Working at KFOR-TV, reporter Katelyn Ogle’s byline was on a thinly sourced piece about a McAlester, Oklahoma medical doctor who claimed, “[P]atients who are taking the horse de-wormer medication, ivermectin, to fight COVID-19 are causing emergency room and ambulance back ups.”

“Dr. [Jason] McElyea said patients are packing his eastern and southeastern Oklahoma hospitals after taking ivermectin doses meant for a full-sized horse, because they believed false claims the horse de-wormer could fight COVID-19,” Ogle reported.

The story was explosive, except it wasn’t true, claimed one of the hospitals where Dr. McElyea practiced.

“Although Dr. Jason McElyea is not an employee of NHS Sequoyah, he is affiliated with a medical staffing group that provides coverage for our emergency room,” stated the Sallisaw, Oklahoma hospital located near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border and about an hour-and-a-half drive from Dr. McEyea’s McAlester, Oklahoma office.

“With that said, Dr. McElyea has not worked at our Sallisaw location in over 2 months. NHS Sequoyah has not treated any patients due to complications related to taking ivermectin. This includes not treating any patients for ivermectin overdose. All patients who have visited our emergency room have received medical attention as appropriate. Our hospital has not had to turn away any patients seeking emergency care. "

[George Rebane]

Administrivia - Please contribute your comments about Ivermectin etc under the appropriate commentaries. Thank you.

[scenes]

re: [email protected]:00AM

It seemed to me that the real story here is the stupidity (and the triumph of ideology over truth) in the press, not the value of Ivermectin (which appears unproven one way or the other). One of my favorites was how Rolling Stone was all in for the liestory and then did an unretraction.

Trust the Blue Mob to turn legal drugs into political warfare.

In the meantime, e e cummings would be proud.

https://www.mtroyal.ca/AboutMountRoyal/MediaRoom/Perspectives/2021/08/lower-case-as-indigenous-eventing-support-resistance.htm

[Bill Tozer]

‘The Effectual Truth of Identity Politics’

https://lawliberty.org/the-effectual-truth-of-identity-politics/

[scenes]

"My University Sacrificed Ideas for Ideology. So Today I Quit.
The more I spoke out against the illiberalism that has swallowed Portland State University, the more retaliation I faced. "

https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/my-university-sacrificed-ideas-for

[Bill Tozer]

‘Moral Majority Media Strikes Again’
When Rachel Maddow, Rolling Stone, and others jumped on a dubious report of ivermectin overdoses, it was just the latest in a string of moral mania mishaps

https://taibbi.substack.com/p/moral-majority-media-strikes-again-cd2

[Barry Pruett]

Progressives: Putting on a gorilla mask to throw eggs at a black conservative in the name of defending against white supremacy. 😂😂😂

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/larry-elder-says-his-security-details-was-hit-by-pellet-gun-while-campaigning

[Bill Tozer]

The Good Death—Cancel Culture and the Logic of Torture

https://quillette.com/2021/09/09/the-good-death-cancel-culture-and-the-logic-of-torture/

[Bill Tozer]

Not the Golden Age of Stupidity, but the gilded age of evil

https://www.facebook.com/114724460376717/posts/376397510876076/