“Death by Idiocy”
by Andy Joppa
“A nation whose institutions are dominated by rampant idiocy cannot survive…That is the only real problem facing America. All others are derivatives of that idiocy.”
-Joppa
In the fairly recent past “idiocy” was in short supply in America…although, even then, it far exceeded demand. Idiocy, of course, occurred, but it would be met with many descriptive commentaries by those who cared about such things.
People stood up and took notice when idiocy presented its often, amusing, face. “Did you hear what the idiot said?” “Did you read the idiocy written in the paper?” “Wasn’t it idiotic what the government just did?”
Jokes would be told under the influence of adult-beverages. “Two idiots walked into a bar…etc.” “Knock, knock…who’s there…an idiot…etc.” “How many idiots does it take to screw in a light bulb?” All these uproarious comments were offered as light-hearted banter as idiocy was seen as being little more than anomalies from the norm. Idiocy, and idiots, were not seen as serious threats to the well-being of our society.
There was even an entire group name these few idiots were given and special venue where they could practice their craft. They were categorically the “village idiots” and they had to sit on the outer wall of the village. This made life easier for all. To the question of where are the idiots? The immediate correct answer was, “On the village wall.” To the query,” Where is the village wall? The immediate rejoinder would be, “Under the idiots.” Life was quite easy.
These idiots made the rest of us feel better about ourselves. “We are not idiots” …or…” I am a recovering idiot” …or…” My mother didn’t raise any idiots.” Idiots also served as a parental threat, thus serving a useful purpose. Moms and dads would scold, “Eat your spinach or you’ll become an idiot.” “Do your homework or you’ll wind up sitting on the village wall.” A case can be made that it was the existence of the village idiots that built a healthier and better educated America. We really needed them but…only in limited supply. A few idiots will go a long way.
That brings us to 2022. Officially, in China, 2022 it’s called The Year of The Idiot. It was originally named The Year of The Incredible Moron but, The Year of the Idiot had more eloquence…at least in Chinese. This year has been preceded by over a quarter century of laying the preparatory groundwork for this astrological event. This work has been so successful that in this year…idiocy has become the new norm. No longer do the idiots have to suffer through being ostracized and confined to a wall…now, the idiots are mainstream. They’ve taken over to the point that it is difficult to find any comment, writing or political action that isn’t idiotic. Many now proudly proclaim that they are idiots.
In fact, if you’re not an idiot there is a presumption that there’s something wrong with you. Most people find this makes their lives easier. They can just go with the flow and let their natural idiocy show just how normal they are. If you insist on not being an idiot you will be labeled a racist, a bigot, a misogynist, anti-science or, pray it never happens to you…a Trumpster… A MAGA weirdo…or…the ultimate insult…a follower of QANON (whatever that is).
Now here’s the deal about being an idiot. When everyone around you is an idiot, they are not capable of discovering that you are an idiot. As but one quick example, and I don’t mean to insult him (OK I do), but…Joe Biden is a doctor of idiocy. They then become Dr. and Mrs. Doctor Joe Biden. He has surrounded himself with a phalanx of idiots who have been educated that idiocy is wisdom and that the more idiotic Joe becomes the wiser he seems to be to his followers and the 100 million idiotic fellow travelers among the American people. All of this is given flight support where social media censors anything that isn’t idiotic. College professors fail students if they don’t give references for their idiocy and the mainstream media prides itself on only hiring those who can document their commitment to being truly idiotic.
With the advent of the movement into a world of total idiocy I find myself consistently getting into more and more trouble. There are so many reasons…let me count the ways. First, and perhaps foremost, idiots only have scant understanding of words, grammar, or syntax. This makes it nearly impossible to penetrate their wall of perpetual idiocy. No matter how many times I might articulate an idea it will be distorted by the idiocy on the Left. Here is an example from my hometown newspaper…just this morning. It was as much idiocy as you can jam into a letter to the editor. The letter writer starts out by saying he is a life-long independent with no bias towards Democrats or Republicans. Two sentences later he says…Democrats are nice guys and Republicans are opportunists who seek every advantage and only want to empower themselves. Now if that isn’t independence…what is? A true masterstroke of idiocy. Of course, that just happens to have an immediacy that brought it to mind.
More critically, these idiots have sucked all the oxygen out of the room making rational discussions impossible. To avoid being pilloried I must take the following idiotic positions:
1) That…police meet in smoke filled rooms to plan how to kill black people thus putting themselves in jeopardy of going to jail and ruining their lives.
2) That…men can have babies and women can have penises.
3) That…women have no power in America and desperately want their bodies rendered into tiny pieces by high explosives during combat. That… their hyper emotional world built around feelings is the perfect formula for rational decision making…especially nuclear.
4) That…Caitlyn Jenner is a woman because he wears a dress, uses makeup, and wears his hair long. However, he still chases the “chicks” like he always did.
5) That…Climate change causes all known meteorological phenomenon. Hot, cold, wind, floods, drought, hurricanes, tornadoes, calm, dew, and blue skies.
6) That the world is on the brink of disaster if we can’t limit carbon output…which we can’t. So, don’t worry.
7) That Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi are decent women who are sane.
8) That alternative energy sources that don’t work are superior to fossil fuel sources that do.
9) That Joe Biden created the WUHAN FLU vaccines and Donald Trump created the border problems.
10) That government can spend as much as they want, and it won’t cause a problem.
11) That making the vote legal doesn’t matter as long as it’s really easy.
12) That the quality of a person in any job doesn’t matter as long as it produces diversity.
13) That…you have freedom of speech as long as you say nice things.
14) That…the purpose of the right to bear arms is for target shooting and hunting squirrels and not to resist the illegal actions of a tyrannical government.
15) That lying to the FBI is a felony while their lying to us is a virtue.
16) That Kagan and Sotomayor on the court because they are brilliant jurists.
17) That…NBA players who only make 4 million a year are getting screwed.
18) That three masks are better than two and that high school half-milers should wear them during a track meet.
19) That there were no violent riots in the entirety of 2020 and 2021. It was just a marshmallow browning that went bad.
20) That government can do whatever they want to if they think it’s a good idea.
21) That young blacks who resist arrest have no role to play in what happens to them afterwards.
22) That coding is an intellectual event and changing the brakes on a car isn’t.
23) That social media has been a god send for those who needed real human contact.
24) That the internet expands human wisdom by allowing you to function without knowledge.
25) That Israel…with 7 million people is the aggressor and the Arab world with 140 million is the victim.
“Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community … but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It’s the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco