why is stupidity running rampant in the world?

Survival of the Fittest means that you then are totally in line with the people who want to annihilate you or control you then? Because, they are showing their superior fitness?

I always wonder if people who say that actually follow the logic through to it logical conclusion.

Ashanu90, pretty funny post. I have no doubt these sorts of conversations happen every day because I've worked in retail.

What can be done is a good question. I've been thinking about this for a very long time, because it is obvious something is very wrong with most human societies that exist, although I assume this post has a focus on Western/American culture, of which I am part of, so I'll focus on that.

Americans are addicted to living cinematic lives, and perpetually unfulfilled because almost nothing in life is cinematic unless you're heavily under the influence of an illegal substance or a string quartet happens to be performing within earshot. In my opinion this is to replace the lack of genuine spirituality our culture possesses. We want to feel something profound that will play the strings of our soul like a harp, but so many of our customs and social events lack any depth and more often than not are centered around marketing tactics and money instead of "God" and nature. Look at how high our rate of depression is, compared to countries that are much worse off. Indigenous cultures are often much more fulfilled than us as well. Technology can not replace the soul.

This upcoming generation of American children are going to be especially screwed up. A majority of those who aren't living in poverty are spoiled brats who need MULTIPLE social networking egos/personas (as another thread mentioned with the "digital ego" idea) to vent about lives which for the most part are void of any valid drama or strife except for that which they create, magnifying their narcissism into damned near personality disorders, and this focus on maintaining their image and managing a social circle replaces a real education. At a time when their brains are most receptive to learning, they are learning to be selfish, and the education system doesn't care as long as they can memorize enough facts to past a test. As TheCuriousEngineer had to say, in reference to a poor education system: "This leads to the endless memorization of facts, dates, and names rather than the deeper concepts of a subject (i.e. ideas and what motivates people)."

We live in communities that hardly interact with one another. Where people live in their houses and once in a while wave at their neighbors, don't vote in any elections for anything, grumble about politics and stick to their pride without investing time in researching political matters from multiple biases instead of their own. The complete lack of ability to borrow another's perspective is a crucial flaw that needs to be fixed, not only with Americans but most other countries as well. How can we expect to make progress if we can't even admit to ourselves when we're wrong about something?

I liked Kaytagg's point. "Our society is made up of specialists -- be it doctors, economists, mechanics, or whatever. No one person can possibly know it all -- yet, they pretend as if they do -- or they are suspicious of others who know more than they do." People stick to their comfort zones, have incredibly limited empathetic abilities, and are easily pushed into political polarities so that bureaucracy is stalled to a standstill. We're not only specialized in careers, it applies to our ideological mindsets as well. We are not good at critical thinking because of it.

It's not that people are stupid. Our customs are stupid. Our culture is stupid. Human beings and their brains are all capable of extraordinary development, but not when they are put under the intellectual anesthesia of TV watching habits, countless varieties of physical and psychological addictions, and the perpetual focus our society places on sex and excess consumerism.

It shouldn't be difficult to narrow down what is wrong with the world and the people in it-- we only need to embrace self-reflection and common sense. But you can't force someone to embrace rationality if they value sentimentality, comfort and mindless tradition over it.

So what can we do? First off, everyone who recognizes that their society is screwed up should make an effort to be an active member of their community instead of becoming misanthropic hermits. We should love our neighbors and our enemies, instead of judging and avoiding them. It is going to take action -- not protests, speeches of revolution, posts on message boards, et cetera. We can't continue meshing with people who already share our views, because that is just relying on comfort zones again instead of reaching those who need to incorporate a different viewpoint. We need to enjoy each other as human beings -- not stereotypes -- and try to instill humility, critical thinking, compassion, morality and empathy in our current generation and the upcoming one by nurturing our communities instead of forsaking them.

reply to post by junipear


wow that was quite a long read but worth every word i think that definitley answers the question and speaks to the heart even. you are truly a wise person and i really appreciate your post, it inspires me to go out and do something like what you said help each other out love thy neighbor.
now i am not a religious person but i agree we all need empathy for one another and to be kind to each other. the golden rule still has value to me
i look forward to reading your future posts and threads

Originally posted by Titen-Sxull
We think that driving 500 times in an oval is a sport.

hah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol i know what you mean my family loves to watch nascar i cant stand even 10 minutes of it its so stupid

reply to post by ashanu90


Thanks for reading/starting the thread.
Spread the word, live the example.

another thing about stupidity.....fred phelps, nuff said