Weaponized Stupidity

We've turned stupidity into a potential weapon of mass destruction. Sometimes I think on purpose. And it gets to me more and more. Whether it's Americans in denial about Gun laws, or Trump allowing Mining conglomerates to ravage pristine Alaskan Wilderness, or our current Prime Minister taking us towards the "No Deal" abyss, it all amounts to the same thing. But it appears rampant throughout all of society, and it seems to find new manifestations as each dawn breaks. And it got me thinking about how I have come to identify the signs of ignorance in others. There's a few markers I'd like to share as they may help you in your interactions. A real red flag for me is when a person seems able to speak only of themselves, and to show no interest in the lives of others. You can probably picture someone you know, perhaps recall a specific example. The presence of two ears and one mouth is instructive here, and my advice to anybody would be to use them proportionally. On a simple level, investing a few moments in listening to others is just plain respectful, and it shows you have an interest in what is happening in their lives. If this isn't already obvious to you then perhaps you might just be one of those people to talk too much and don't listen enough. Another real trigger for me is when a person cannot see beyond their biases or deeply held beliefs and refuse to interact with ideas that challenge their way of thinking. Look no further than religion if you want to see this one at full throttle. I cannot tell you how many Christians I have met that just refuse to countenance that their view of the world is built on a fiction. I actually suspect that many know the game is up but just cannot take that step towards an honest appraisal of how the world really is. Political ideology is another classic example, the whole Left verses Right thing. The most extreme voices appear to make the most noise and get the most attention, drowning out all the sensible and reasonable one's. I refer you to the talk less, listen more principle here. It will get you a long way. Now we all make mistakes, and we always will, and we have to be accepting of this. But stupidity is failing to learn from each wrong turn, because the person that cripples most will be you. I'd suggest that viewing failure as a gift is helpful here. Use it as a launchpad to doing better, to thinking more clearly, and recognise that throughout your life there will be times when we just have to deal with the fact that we were wrong. The late and undoubtedly great Christopher Hitchens often noted that the wiser he became, the more acutely aware he also became of his own ignorance. What a wonderful, healthy, life affirming way seeing the world. That's humility. That's what I aspire to. There's so much I'm ignorant of, so many stones I have not upturned. And I'm desperate to live in a world where we all learn to think just a bit more clearly, to see beyond ourselves and accept that we are part of an incredible wider narrative. I'm sad that we now live in a world where we have weaponized stupidity, where it is almost seen as a virtue rather than something to be overcome. Perhaps we just need to step away from our own self interest, our own corners of bias, accepting that there's too much stupid in the world and we need to do something to reduce this tragic arrears.