The Stupidity Epidemic

Rampant population and family-planning stupidity

Here’s another telling example: the bipartisan furor over declining birth rates. Many scientists and sociologists, on both sides of the aisle, are moaning about the dangers of a declining birth rate, as if humanity is about to go extinct.

Yet they totally ignore the fact that our global population is still growing by many millions of people each year — around 70 million every year, like clockwork. They also ignore the fact that ever-increasing consumption on the part of ever-growing numbers of people is causing a burgeoning ecological (and soon economic) catastrophe.

In truth, the human population of our planet is far too large, and when this problem merges with our increasing over-consumption of resources, humanity is facing a grave situation: a literal, shocking dead end. But no one wants to deal with these issues in any useful or meaningful way. Instead, many various groups and religions around the world are still pushing for more people and more procreation.

Vast global entities like the Catholic church still oppose all abortion and even oppose contraception. Now the GOP and U.S. ‘conservatives’ are jumping on the anti-contraception bandwagon, and seek to force women to become pregnant and then carry every baby to term and give birth — even when the baby isn’t viable or the mother’s health is at stake. The church, ‘conservatives,’ and even many deluded ‘intellectuals’ are cheering for an ever-increasing human population — all consequences be damned.

These attitudes need to be called out for what they are: rampant, irresponsible stupidity. Humanity, our societies, and the Earth are not suffering because there are too few people, they are suffering under the weight of too many people.

To be clear, I’m not advocating any ‘purge’ of humanity or rooting for a mass die-off. I just wish that many more people would acknowledge reality… and then act accordingly and intelligently. Instead, most people turn a blind eye to our population, ecological, and climate situations and choose to keep procreating like rabbits.

This attitude is just plain stupid and totally unsustainable — yet here we are, acting like utter morons and willfully creating the conditions for our own (and many, many other species’) demise.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Quality education and lifelong learning are critically important

There are many more examples of rampant stupidity that I could cite — but I’m sure you get the idea. The last and crucial thing I want to mention is the gross under-emphasis on quality education in the U.S. Even those who complete high school emerge as total know-nothings when it comes to understanding life essentials like how our government works, how emotions and communication work, how to balance work, play, and family, and how to create an economically-sound lifestyle and avoid major debt.

These days, far too many Americans are in debt up to their eyeballs — and also tend to vote for parties and politicians that support our dysfunctional status quo and push for continued ‘limitless growth.’ But that’s exactly what’s undermining and destroying our society and our personal satisfaction — since nothing is ever ‘good enough’ and we’re always seeking more, more, more.

This is an insane and stupid way to live, and there’s just no excuse anymore for promoting such blatant, destructive BS and lying nonsense. What we should be doing is supporting life-long learning and inner growth, not this endless, unsatisfying quest for endless outer growth and ‘prosperity.’

We should make learning and getting an excellent education our highest priority, and encourage people to keep learning and growing intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. And we desperately need to teach critical thinking and social analysis skills that could help people understand and truly ‘get’ what’s happening in the world around them.

Plus, there’s another crucial element we should be supporting: teaching people empathic, effective ways to relate and communicate with other human beings. We all need help learning good relating and communication skills — for they don’t usually come naturally. We also need steady encouragement to ‘put ourselves in others’ shoes’ and be as loving, kind, and compassionate as possible.

How to undermine our present and destroy our future: keep doing more of the same

But instead, we mainly do the exact opposite. We encourage selfishness, greed, racial or ethnic hatred, and non-compassion. Simultaneously, we encourage mental laziness and utter disregard for facts, truth, and clear thinking. We encourage willful blindness and stupidity, as if ignorance really is bliss.

But ignorance is not bliss, and ignorance and stupidity can — and do — destroy and kill. The human race cannot afford to be this stupid and willfully ignorant, anymore. We and our technologies have gotten far too powerful and our global population has gotten far too enmeshed in addictive, destructive ‘mass consumption.’

In the end, it’s likely that our learned stupidity will be our downfall. The only realistic ‘way out’ of this suicidal dilemma lies in ongoing, consistent, and excellent public education. But as noted earlier, there is little to no political will to move in this direction.

Thus, the worldwide stupidity epidemic keeps growing and intensifying. Thus, the entire planet and all its plants, animals, and people are at the mercy of our overpopulated craziness, greed, and ignorance.

If we can’t or won’t turn this stupidity epidemic around, all hope for a decent, sane, and enjoyable future is truly lost. Simply gone.

[End Note: In a cool synchronicity, Umair Haque just published an essay with the partial title The World of Maximally Possible Stupid (well worth reading, BTW). On the exact day I submitted this essay, yet! It’s fascinating to see the way wild ‘synchronicities’ sometimes show up in our lives.]