Whassup, peeps! I told you that from time to time I'd have a guest blogger. Today's post is written by a very good friend of mine residing in the ATL. Her name is Dorna and I met her in November 2005 when I relocated to Albany, GA. The best way to describe our friendship is that we are the same but different. We love a lot of the same foods, books, shoes, and handbags. We enjoy several of the same TV shows and share many of the same opinions yet we differ on several things. We keep each other on our toes and inspire and challenge each other in all aspects of life such as love, parenting, and spirituality. Recently, we had a discussion that being dumb was currently in style and that intelligent folks were really a small percentage of the population. As always, comments are expected and welcome. Here is Dorna's opinion.........
Growing up, I was taught I had to master certain things in order to succeed in life; reading, writing and arithmetic to name a few. I didn’t have much trouble mastering any of these things and was quite proud of myself for the ability. I also figured everyone else would have to do the same thing if they wanted to make it in life. Sure there were some people in my class that had some difficulties, but for the most part everyone got it. If you didn’t you weren’t able to “pass” to the next grade. I went through life with the philosophy that 85% of the world is smart and 15% is not quite so smart.
So imagine my surprise as I started interacting in the real world only to discover my numbers were waaaaayyyy off!! I kept giving people the benefit of the doubt because otherwise I would have to change my thinking about the world. I periodically adjusted my percentages because I would have several encounters in a row with people who were unbelievably stupid in thinking, process, or outlook. Then I realized my percentages were just totally off to begin with; I should have flipped the numbers at the very beginning!! The real minority is smart people and we only make up 15% of the world!! Today is a good day, so I’m being gracious because it’s probably lower in reality!! Now I’m sure if you have just read that statement, you are thinking that I’m either really full of myself or you’re part of the 15%. Trust me; I did not come to this conclusion lightly. In my journey of life, so many events have occurred on a personal, societal, and global level that can only be explained as people are stupid!!!
Personal example, my soon to be ex-husband, who is a very nice person, still lives in the home we bought together with 2 incomes. He doesn’t want to move even though keeping the house puts him in such a financial bind that he has had to get a roommate; and still struggles. He refinanced the home with an ARM which I knew would expire. So I suggested that he refinance the mortgage. Instead of working with his current mortgage company, he went to a disreputable organization who instructed him not to pay his mortgage; send them the mortgage payment and they would work it all out! You all are probably cringing right now and know exactly where this story is headed. Yep…they did nothing, his mortgage was not paid for 3 months; I found out and sent him in another direction. Now his credit is totally screwed!! The only explanation for this…stupidity!!!
Societal example, let’s take a look at the latest celebrity sex scandal…John Edwards’ love child! Seriously, what rock has he been under? Has he ever heard about DNA and paternity testing? Did he miss the coverage of Former President Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and Former Governor Elliott Spitzer and let’s not forget Tiger Woods! Edwards, like the others, just doesn’t get it, the moment you have sex with someone other than your spouse…you too will get caught!!! Lying will not help you, and there’s always evidence!! If the woman will commit adultery with you, what makes you think she’s trustworthy enough not to expose your dumb ass? Oh, that’s right; you’re smarter than the other guys. No, what you are is stupid!!!
Global example, consider the war in Afghanistan. I have a very strong opinion about war in general, but here’s what works my nerve about the Afghanistan war. I was fully behind Bush when he declared war in search of Osama Bin Laden. I totally understood his rationale. What became an issue was not having a firm game plan and timeline. Not to mention we (America) didn’t really have a full grip on Bin Laden’s methods and international influence. So we go in with less than necessary force and here we are 9 years later no closer to apprehending him than we are the Man in the Moon!! Osama is somewhere laughing his butt off and calling Americans and our allies STUPID!!
Growing up, I was taught I had to master certain things in order to succeed in life; reading, writing and arithmetic to name a few. I didn’t have much trouble mastering any of these things and was quite proud of myself for the ability. I also figured everyone else would have to do the same thing if they wanted to make it in life. Sure there were some people in my class that had some difficulties, but for the most part everyone got it. If you didn’t you weren’t able to “pass” to the next grade. I went through life with the philosophy that 85% of the world is smart and 15% is not quite so smart.
So imagine my surprise as I started interacting in the real world only to discover my numbers were waaaaayyyy off!! I kept giving people the benefit of the doubt because otherwise I would have to change my thinking about the world. I periodically adjusted my percentages because I would have several encounters in a row with people who were unbelievably stupid in thinking, process, or outlook. Then I realized my percentages were just totally off to begin with; I should have flipped the numbers at the very beginning!! The real minority is smart people and we only make up 15% of the world!! Today is a good day, so I’m being gracious because it’s probably lower in reality!! Now I’m sure if you have just read that statement, you are thinking that I’m either really full of myself or you’re part of the 15%. Trust me; I did not come to this conclusion lightly. In my journey of life, so many events have occurred on a personal, societal, and global level that can only be explained as people are stupid!!!
Personal example, my soon to be ex-husband, who is a very nice person, still lives in the home we bought together with 2 incomes. He doesn’t want to move even though keeping the house puts him in such a financial bind that he has had to get a roommate; and still struggles. He refinanced the home with an ARM which I knew would expire. So I suggested that he refinance the mortgage. Instead of working with his current mortgage company, he went to a disreputable organization who instructed him not to pay his mortgage; send them the mortgage payment and they would work it all out! You all are probably cringing right now and know exactly where this story is headed. Yep…they did nothing, his mortgage was not paid for 3 months; I found out and sent him in another direction. Now his credit is totally screwed!! The only explanation for this…stupidity!!!
Societal example, let’s take a look at the latest celebrity sex scandal…John Edwards’ love child! Seriously, what rock has he been under? Has he ever heard about DNA and paternity testing? Did he miss the coverage of Former President Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and Former Governor Elliott Spitzer and let’s not forget Tiger Woods! Edwards, like the others, just doesn’t get it, the moment you have sex with someone other than your spouse…you too will get caught!!! Lying will not help you, and there’s always evidence!! If the woman will commit adultery with you, what makes you think she’s trustworthy enough not to expose your dumb ass? Oh, that’s right; you’re smarter than the other guys. No, what you are is stupid!!!
Global example, consider the war in Afghanistan. I have a very strong opinion about war in general, but here’s what works my nerve about the Afghanistan war. I was fully behind Bush when he declared war in search of Osama Bin Laden. I totally understood his rationale. What became an issue was not having a firm game plan and timeline. Not to mention we (America) didn’t really have a full grip on Bin Laden’s methods and international influence. So we go in with less than necessary force and here we are 9 years later no closer to apprehending him than we are the Man in the Moon!! Osama is somewhere laughing his butt off and calling Americans and our allies STUPID!!
Now knowing that I’m part of a real minority doesn’t make me feel better, I just want to find the other intelligent people and live in smart bliss. Actually, if we could rule the world, life would be better for the majority!!
Copyright February 6, 2010 by Pamela Cole Thorpe
Copyright February 6, 2010 by Pamela Cole Thorpe
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Dorna, I agree that we have become a dumbed down society. We do not question things enough and we often take the news as gospel. Our educational system needs to improve in teaching our children to write and to think critically. I am amazed by the number of adults who can't put a decent sentence together. I won't eve get into those who think they are smart and are constantly spouting ignorant views across the airwaves.
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