Stuck on ‘stupid’

John Merli
Published: June 12, 2008

“Stupid” is such a stupid little word, and certainly politically incorrect, but it does sort of get to the heart of the matter, yes? I’m not talking about the fairly mild, almost humorous term that was used more than 15 years (and increasingly again today) in the oft-quoted “it’s the economy, stupid.” Today’s definition of “stupid” seems to cut a bit closer to the bone.

I got to thinking about this the other night while watching a network newscast. They were interviewing some small-town mayor who suddenly looked up into the camera and said something like, “This
country has been stuck on ‘stupid’ for too long!” I think he was talking about gas prices and why so many of us had insisted all these years to drive around in SUVs and other gas-guzzlers as though
prices at the pump would always remain at $2 a gallon. But he could have been talking about a whole range of topics these days that come under the heading of “stupid.”

This trend of the nation drifting into a sort of mindless stupidity has not been lost on writers, to be sure. A new book carries the telling title, “Just How Stupid Are We?” Among other things, the author
points out the stark irony confronting today’s society — namely, that stupidity still manages to thrive amid an unprecedented wealth of information that’s more quickly and easily obtainable than ever
before. And despite this wealth of data, we seem to have a lot of people walking around as dumb as fence posts. (Forty three people just muttered to themselves, “Look who’s talking.”)

This stupidity goes beyond wealth, or lack of it, or politics, race, or even class. It certainly goes beyond formal education. (Let’s be honest: Some of the stupidest people among us could have several
advanced degrees.) Simply put, to be stupid is to basically make little or no attempt to stay generally informed on the issues and events that affect us. Perhaps more to the point, it also includes clinging
to ideas or “facts” that have repeatedly and demonstrably been proven wrong over and over again.

According to the National Geographic Society, six-in-seven Americans have no idea of the location of Iraq or Afghanistan, despite having been at war there for more than five years. A shocking percentage
of people still think Barack Obama is a Muslim (this, despite their knowing of a troublesome Christian pastor? Now that’s really stupid). A shocking percentage of Americans continue to believe Saddam
Hussein was responsible for September 11, nearly seven years after the fact. A shocking number of people haven’t picked up a daily newspaper or watched a TV newscast in memory, and rarely ever
check online news Web sites, but go out of their way to get much of their “news” from “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central.

Many high school students can’t write a simple sentence, or name one justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

This isn’t merely lazy ignorance; this is just plain stupid.

Some television is surely to blame, such as popular game shows which ask contestants to randomly select suitcases in order to reap huge rewards (a “skill” that chimpanzees could perform with equal
results). Our obsession with celebrity worship (that affects far more than teenyboppers) helps reinforce the mixed message that Britney Spears’ latest arrest is far more relevant to our lives than the latest
threat against Iran, or an ominous plunge on Wall Street. Or what “WMD” means. Deep, generic cynicism towards government gives others the excuse they apparently need to avoid ever letting a new fact
or idea seep into their head.

Thankfully, there are signs in the current election campaign that large numbers of people are finally re-engaging in the affairs of their own country (and it hardly matters which side they’ve chosen) — at
least until November. It’s about time we got moving again in a sane direction. Beyond politics and ideology and beyond education, being stuck-on-stupid is simply not acceptable anymore.

John Merli has been a Prince William County resident since 1984, and a Potomac News columnist since 1985. He has worked in the media for more than 30 years. E-mail him at
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