I have read this Harper's article "The Third Force" twice. It seems so of the moment. And just what is the third force? Well, there is Good, there is Evil, and there is Stupidity. Stupidity has been front and center in the conversation around here for awhile now. What is stupidity? Garret Keizer gives us this definition:
"Stupidity is a denial of reality to the degree that one's own survival, to say nothing of the survival of others, is imperiled. Too dumb to live, we might say, summoning metaphors of dodo birds and dinosaurs."
Yeah, right. You don't want to be that stupid. And you are amazed as you watch your fellow human beings clinging to their own determined stupidity with all their might. Many of them are fighting for their lives in the ICUs around the country.
You know, it's "A Confederacy of Dunces" (hat-tip: John Kennedy Toole).
Seems you can't really fight the Stupid Ones. You either have to maneuver around them, ignore them, out-vote them, keep your social distance from them or maybe sort of entertain them.
So yeah, as Barack Obama's Grandmother would say to the young Barack: "Reality has a way of catching up with you." Right. Reality is a hard teacher. Best to listen, and learn.
Get Smart. Pay attention. Listen to Nature. Listen to Reality. Always be learning. Keep humble. Hang with the Smart Ones. Look to them. Maybe some of that smartness will rub off on you?
