Shakespeare said something along the lines that, “There is a destiny that shapes our ends.” I can’t argue with that. History shows me that both people and nations can fail in spectacular fashion; the only drawback to that is that it often takes longer than we wish it to. Most of us hope that blackguard nations and individuals would go direct to the compost heap without the necessity of the agonizing, protracted drama of lives injured in the process.
Were the American people always this stupid? Is it a generational thing; do certain generations back up over a metaphorical La Guardia of reincarnation and chomp at the bit for their chance to perform before the world? I often wonder if there might not be a conveyor belt that moves through dimensional space, sorting and labeling characters for their moment to “strut and fret their hour upon the stage.” I wonder about a lot of things because I don’t get the payoff. I have yet to see where being exposed as an idiot and a liar is a good career move; but wait a minute... it seems like it is.
Enormous power and influence is casually invested in people who would have a hard time managing a Dairy Queen, much less a nation. Media figures, lacking both truth and the eloquence necessary to convincingly read a grocery list are paid huge sums of money and honored as fonts of wisdom. Something is wrong with this picture. When you investigate the thing it appears that all of this exists because the audience is just, just... really, really stupid; have they always been this stupid? ...off and on... off and on; this brings me back to the ambulatory cordwood stacked up over metaphorical La Guardia.
It’s funny how the environment will mirror the personnel passing through it. The soundtrack compliments it. The leaders reflect the led. The quality of the air and water mirrors the intellectual and emotional pollutions of those ingesting it. Stupid people lead stupid lives and everything mirrors their passage through a stupid world to a stupid end. Things that make no natural or mathematical sense make sense there. Lies become the fabric of life. Commercials for things that kill have the impact on a stupid mind of things that give life.
Everything in the land of stupid makes a stupid kind of sense. Going backwards looks like going forwards. Painful things appear to be necessary things even when the pain is a reminder of the results of practicing stupid things. The stupider and more unreasonable everything becomes in reality, the more reality is adjusted in perception to make stupid look smart. It becomes okay to live and eat and breathe stupid. Fat is the new thin. Stupid is the new smart. Leaders who lack only the red neck kerchief of the Khmer Rouge appear positively Jeffersonian. Everything adapts and adjusts to explain everything in terms of stupid.
Lies are not lies; they are adjusted truths that have been explained in terms of stupid. The mindless violence for gain is seen to be a cost effective investment for the general good. Pointless sacrifice of the many for the benefit of the few is, in the stupid perspective, a pervasive boon for the greatest good of the greatest number of people.
Student loans are cut; possibly because the education received no longer has the same value of educations formerly received… but more likely because tiny savings are needed to offset massive expenditures upon stupid policies that have a greater value than that of an educated population. Tiny savings cannot offset massive expenditures. Oh yes they can. They make perfect fiscal sense in the land of The Stupids.
Cutting Medicare and food stamps and social services and all manner of benefits that would seem to be hallmarks of a successful society are proven to be wise and compassionate in the land of the stupids. Those who cannot spend the interest on their gains are given additional gains and those with little or nothing are bent over a barrel and a nation of stupids applauds as they are bent over the barrel.
Political leaders, not content with their personal return on their positions must resort to fraud and theft to further enhance their holdings and this is defined as savvy and perfectly legal in the land of the stupids. The foreign policy of the nation is run from a small country in the Middle East that is the source of the majority of the trouble in that location and this is defined as legal and permissible in the land of the stupids. The leader of this small country tells a former leader of this small country that they don’t have to worry about anything that happens in the land of the stupids because they control this country. The hard physical evidence of this exchange is documented and reported in the news and easily obtained but... it didn’t actually get said and nobody heard it exactly as it was said exactly because... because... they are stupid? So called terrorists that were reputed to have attacked the stupid nation are witnessed aboard gambling boats owned by a lobbyist who supports the government entrusted with the protection of the nation and this is seen as perfectly okay in a nation of stupids.
Massive buildings collapse in free fall and in defiance of physics as the result of a fire caused by the impact of a plane (hijacked by some terrorists of which nearly half were found to be living somewhere else after they died) into a building designed to withstand the impact of the plane where no buildings of similar type and even buildings less securely constructed have ever collapsed before; even when the fires raged for hours and hours longer. This is easily explained in the land of the stupids. The owner of a building not hit by anything is recorded as saying they would bring down the building and immediately the building that wasn’t hit by anything comes down. This owner had weeks before acquired billions of dollars worth of terror insurance and so on and so on but, it didn’t actually happen in the land of the stupids even though it did happen and it didn’t really mean anything.
Hurricanes wipe out an entire city and towns and villages and coastlines all about and nothing was done to provide for the victims during the storm or in the aftermath... slowly, like shit flowing uphill in January assistance now bleeds through the filters of contractors connected to the government that didn’t do anything and, wait a minute... Shit flows like Karo syrup uphill in January all the time in the land of the stupids.
Lies become truth; hindrance becomes help, theft becomes charity, treachery is patriotism and everything is everything that you want it to be when you need it to be whatever you want it to be in the land of the stupids. I read a book somewhere, a novel, that documented all of this and it didn’t sound like a very nice place; containing as it did rat facemasks and nothing being what it seemed but it turns out it is a very nice place indeed in the land of the stupids. In the land of the stupids the man with no brain is king. In the land of the stupids, stupid behavior, suicidal behavior and any kind of behavior that assaults the host body engaged in stupid behavior is considered virtuous and smart behavior because of the high concentration of stupidity that it contains.
In the land of the stupids when you eat your own young you are actually being fruitful and multiplying. In the land of the stupids a country that stood in opposition to Stalinist policies can be applying textbook Stalinist policies taken from the Stalinist textbooks and the critics can be called Stalinists. In the land of the stupids the mouthpieces of the stupids can screech like crows and abuse like alcoholic parents and are pronounced to be fair, reasonable and eloquent voices bravely raised above the screeching of crows.
In the land of the stupids two and two does not make four. In the land of the stupids you can look right at something and not see it. In the land of the stupids something can be made simply and perfectly clear and immediately become complex and perfectly unclear. In the land of the stupids it is clear that you can be never be too stupid or too stupid.
“Although it won’t apply in the land of the stupids it is a truth that if something becomes scarce in one location it will concentrate in another”... he said; shaking the very dust of that city from his sandals.
'Have I Got This Right?' is track no. 2 of 10 on Visible's 2002 album
'911 was an Inside Job'
Lyrics (pops up)
25 comments:
fantastic Les! I sent this on to your hero over at What Really Happened. I hope he links it.
Erin
Hey Erin he's my hero too and apparently he got it because that's how I got here. With that said this was one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. Too bad it's so sad that it's true.
-Signed Stupid
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Burn 'em matey.
The only things that are infinite are the Universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure aboout the Universe. -Albert Einstein
Mojo
I don't think Americans are that stupid, they, like most in the industrial world, just don't care. They expect the market and the experts will keep them comfortable forever. I imagine the romans had the same sort of mindset ...
"Got mine so fuck you"
Our apathy and constant drive for more has made merciless killers out of us all. Soon we will have to become survivalists. I can't say I mind much.
Anything is better than this fucked up excuse for a civilization.
I almost forgot:
Most people only play like children, and watch TV. Most people are only a little better than animals.
Peace.
Mogolos, there is no difference between being careless or being stupid. The results are the same as are the results of "nefarious intent v. incomptency". Stand back from the terminology and look at what has happened.
"Stand back from the terminology and look at what has happened."
I don't even know what that means friend, but we're running low on fuel and the climate is changing right before our eyes yet everyone but a handful is still in denial or doesn't care.
How the FUCK am I supposed to step back from that? ... And I don't do terminology because I don't have to, most people are fucking idiots, simple as that.
But we agree that stupid is another word for indifferent or careless.
It seems to me such a frustratingly intractable paradox--a lot of people are naturally kind of "dull" or "slow," can't really think for themselves or have their own inner sense of what seems good or right (maybe just due to the luck of the draw in terms of who happen to be their parents in terms of genes and upbringing.)
These people COULD be raised to a more sophisticated level of intelligence if they were born into a society & culture that valued raising people's consciousness and thinking abilities. Just imagine how advanced a world we could have if we used all our techno-wizardry for these aims---TV to INFORM, manufacturing to HOUSE, agriculture to FEED. I think most human brains have the potential for a fairly high level of sophistication if given the right environment to thrive in.
BUT--there's a certain ape-inheritance we all have, and it's an inheritance of power structures. Those born into wealth & privelege are taught to stay king-of-the-hill, taught to justify keeping everyone else down because they've been led to believe that they are better, smarter, and harder-working than those at the bottom. Taught to believe that they are actually "serving" humanity by espousing their cruel brand of social Darwinism.
And what happens? We use all our technology and imagination not to uplift humanity, but to keep it down! To keep people stupid! To turn them into mindless zombie CONSUMERS. Dollar signs, not people. Constantly finding ways to hypnotize and trick each other, instead of informing, confessing, sharing.
The paradox and catch-22 of it is that those who have the perspective & intelligence coupled with the power & wealth to actually CHANGE society are almost always the very ones who do their damndest to ensure that it STAYS THE SAME. The people at "the top" are the only ones who can REALLY make the change, but they won't. Of course, they'd theoretically change society if all those "beneath" them in the hierarchy FORCED them to make changes--but the sad reality is that "the public" is in no position to really do this, due to their IGNORANCE. They're busy trying to make livings, and from birth they're born into a brainwashed culture. They're taught to vote against their own interests, to applaud someone like BUSH for caring about us and keeping us free!!!
To raise them out of this ignorance would require the help of those greedy people at "the top," who will almost always just rationalize their luck into god-given privelage or the fruits of hard, hard work & valiant skill. They hypnotize themselves into thinking they're actually BETTER than the bottom 95% of humanity. Of course there have been many advances in civil rights due to the POWER OF THE PEOPLE. But isn't this power of the people increasingly dwarfed by the mega-power wielded by increasingly huge corporations?
If the status quo is good to you, you'll be good to the status quo. It takes painful catastrophes to change anything, it seems.
Are these sufferings a natural part of human evolution? Are these tragedies actually labor-pains?--a horrific yet necessary process we must go through as we give birth to a more humane society?
Or did humanity take a wrong-turn somewhere in the course of our evolution, a turn away from our mammalian instincts of love & compassion, a turn towards brute force, greed and manipulation?
If our true nature is indeed ruled by those negative instincts, then I don't think humanity has much chance of surviving. If we can use our technology POSITIVELY to raise our awareness and spread information through the internet, the arts, and word of mouth, then maybe we can outweigh the NEGATIVE uses of commercial technology. But how many people can something like the internet wake up if they don't even realize they're asleep, or if they don't even WANT to wake up?
Will humanity (as a whole) get what it deserves? And just what do we really deserve?
Careless, thoughtless, stupid? All synonyms if u ask me.
btw, pls don't disparage our ape-links; methinks somehow it's more our "alien" links that are the problem/s. We are the only animals that could become extinct and the rest of nature could actually flourish in our absence. But not vice-versa.
And while we may not get what we imagine we deserve, we do seem to get what we serve.
Les is more! What a great stupid piece. Thanks for it :)
am
Powerful and imaginative writing like Voltaire of old! You are certainly a voice that needs to be heard in this time.
I recommend all readers study your other articles here and at the other blog. You are an immense intellect with a working heart.
Albert Spence
There is such a difference in how you are treated here compared to the Fray. It just goes to show that the wider world is far more sane than they.
Cyn
Let me simplify the matter by going back to the days of my childhood. Let's say you have a Ken doll, a Barbie doll and a Gumby. Let's say I do as well.
My father works as a janitor for the Chicago Board of Education which gives me access to a typewriter and a copying press. Neither of your parents' employment provides access of this material to you, even though they have better paying jobs.
I type up a story that Barbie is cheating on Ken with Gumby. (Once you go green, you'll see what they mean!) You know this is rubbish, but it doesn't matter because my story sheet looks so much better than anything you can come up with.
You may be right that Barbie is plastic while I say she's neglected, and while I have Ken pegged as self-centered, you think he's totally hollow. I portray Gumby as romantic while you say he lacks balls and has no cranial stability. Never mind the term "may," you ARE right.
It all doesn't matter. Well, almost. My world falls apart the moment I start thinking that my Ken, Barbie and Gumby can pay for my shelter and food.
(BTW, nice blogging.)
For what it's worth...
Thank you for writing this. It helps me realize that some of us still have sense.
Believe me, the stupids will not inherit the earth.
Gene pool cleansing due shortly, sooner than anyone thinks.
Best to be wearing your life jacket.
Right on the money.
Your values are born in deception.
Deception is smart, being deceived is stupid.
Evolution's tongue flashes out now at the speed of light.
Take a broader viewpoint ...
truly awesome
Les,
Just wanted to wish you a merry and festive holiday.
Light a candle for freedom,
light a candle for peace,
light a candle for learning,
light a candle for honest democracy
light a candle for those who have not food or home
light a candle for the bruised beauty and waining bounty of our over used planet
light a candle for those hunted and harried for having a different belief
light a frigging bonfire to give light to the great power that is in the dark.
[why not? I hears its a season for miracles and hope.]
Let me personally thank all of you for your kind words. I am humbled and honored by your support. I do not asnwer here but anyone who emails me always hears from me except I keep forgetting to say something nice to Bing Futch...but in any case...God Bless you all and let us not forget that how things are depends on how we are.
Les Visible
To i on the ball patriot -
What viewpoint exactly is it you'd like us to take? The ends justify the means?
If everyone acted like those you seem to praise, the world would be a mess; because some people operate for their own best interest at the detriment of all others doesn't mean it is wise for us all to do so.
Evolution is not dominance and deception (unless you're Israeli that is).
We've been raised in a bullshit world where good is bad, white is black, up is down and here is there.
Why? Because deceivers are in power and look around you - the world's a mess.
We have hardly evolved in the past 100 years. Far from it.
Devolution has taken hold and destroyed man.
les viable:
A question?
What is the connection/difference between arrogance and stupidity?
Arrogant people, to me, appear to be self orientated and anti communal.
Like libertarians. Are they "stupid" because they believe, as individuals, that the "founding fathers" were for real? How do they justify their reality, or is it their religion?
There is to much "head" and not enough heart. Let the smoke dissipate from around the mirror and see the existential face staring, no begging, for the heart to define its soul. Its timid metaphor reflects back no dialectic of transendance/contingency, unable to identify the sacrificial light of revolution, movement forward. Shatter the "mirror" and look into the eyes of the "other" who waits for permission to act.
A father, a mother, knows that they must sharpen their swords to strike at the head of the tyrant, knowing their children are going to be murdered on the alter of egoistical psychopaths demanding an end to their empty, shallow self contemptible lives.
It will come. I am ready.
Father, Vietnam era veteran, communitarian and builder.
Dear Les V, a WhatReallyHappened link led to your Land of the Stupids piece, which I read about a week ago. You are saying so well, exactly how things have been looking to me!
Then, last Saturday, as I was avoiding a certain well-known holiday by hanging out in a bookstore, I discovered an absorbingly interesting book that puts it all in a whole fresh perspective, and when I googled the author, I found this review, which is well worth reading in its own right, and gives a really good picture of the book:
http://www.doyletics.com/arj/loststar.htm
Our star the Sun has a life partner!
Wish you a great New Year, and a whole new Great Year! That's what the book is about.
I'm checking in to your blog now I know it's there.
Sam
"What viewpoint exactly is it you'd like us to take?"
A broader viewpoint -- evolution uses deception to test and strengthen. Your values are a product of those who are testing you ...
"The ends justify the means?"
You must determine how you will be strengthened, if at all. I praise no one. I observe what I see.
"We have hardly evolved in the past 100 years. Far from it.
Devolution has taken hold and destroyed man."
Evolution has evolved at the speed of light. You will have to look deeper to see it. It will empower you.
Well, after my last episode of opinions posted on the fray, whoever there was left that thought I was at least semi-OK pretty much threw my baggage out into the streets with the exceptions of few old regulars.
Honesty is a funny thing. People are always saying that they want it and then, when you give it to them...straight-like...they either hate you for it or cannot except what it is that you choose to adhere to as honesty. It makes you wonder if people purposely choose to live in the world of make-believe so that none of their precious parameters are ever challenged by the onslaught of of that damnably inconvenient constant...reality!
As for me I will ride with the horsemen as: they turn out the laughter like the wild surf pounding out beyond the borders of belief.
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