Stupid People Making Stupid Mistakes Making Smart People’s Lives Miserable

About 100 years ago (okay, it was really only 14 years ago) I read a book by some people named Freeman and DeWolf entitled, “The 10 Dumbest Mistakes Smart People Make and How To Avoid Them.” It was a fairly interesting read.

The authors talked of knowing better. That is, there are moments where our smarts just abandon us - resulting in idiotic decisions. All of us, no matter if we’re dumb or smart, have times when we make mistakes in our judgment. Clear thinking leaves us.

They also talked about various behaviors that cause people to do dumb things. Losing your temper, questioning what you know to be true, being defensive, being unrealistic, derailing yourself with self-defeat and a host of other things were mentioned as things even smart people can do to cause dumb actions.

I’ve still got that book floating around my library somewhere. I think it’s time to break it out and give it another reading.

But, today my mind isn’t on smart people doing stupid things. Today I’m thinking of stupid people (those who have chronic dumbness) who do stupid things and cause smart people to suffer.

Let’s take that ever popular grievance of driving in traffic. Those of us who live in major metro areas know what that’s all about. And we deal with it in our own way, but who among us hasn’t wanted to do something awful to the person who drives in the fast lane at 10 miles an hour below the posted speed limit - refusing to move to the center lane? A stupid person behaving with stupidity causing grief to all who get in his path!

Or, who among us hasn’t wanted to “go postal” on the postal worker behind the counter who seeing a line full of people waiting for assistance decides it’s time for her smoke break? Another stupid person behaving as expected causing pain and suffering on the rest of us.

Or, who among us hasn’t desired to trip a waiter/waitress in a restaurant who insists on ignoring our dining needs?

It’s everywhere. It’s rampant. It’s an epidemic. It’s out of control. Dumbness. Stupidity. Idiocy. It makes life for everybody miserable. It fosters emotions that no human should feel (rage, thoughts of criminal behavior, the list is long). It creates stress and is no doubt the cause of countless strokes and heart attacks. I wonder how many deaths each year could be attributed to an act of stupidity.

What can we do about it? That’s the real problem. NOTHING. You see, the stupid people can’t be improved. They’re incapable of discernment. They know not that they know not. How can you tell somebody to improve something they can’t even recognize? Figure that out and you’ve got a real winner of an idea that can be used in all kinds of educational settings.

What the rest of us want to do is to respond in kind by being stupid ourselves. Well, that won’t work. We want to run the slow driver in the fast lane off the road. Stupid. Can’t do it - without becoming part of the stupid clan yourself.

No, I’m afraid we’re destined to endure their moronic acts realizing they make us better understand just how smart we are. For without the morons in the world, how would we know we’re smarter? (It’s a rhetorical question. We all know we’re smarter than these idiots. We really don’t need their dumb behavior to show us that.)

So, today when you run into the stupid behavior of a stupid person be thankful that you’re the “other guy.” You’re not the dumb one. Take consolation in that. Look at the moron and pity him knowing that he’ll never understand the frustration you feel because he has no ability to get it. Then try to find a way to make money off guys like him because that’s where the real economic opportunities lie.