So, Thinking Makes You Dizzy?

Unfortunately, concrete, black and white, absolutist thinkers aren't really thinking. The synapses may be firing, but the connections aren't connecting. The small minded have always had problems with humor. To truly appreciate the multiple dimensions of comedy, it takes a mind that can handle the abstract without feeling that the sky is falling, contemplate the grey areas between polar absolutes without fearing the loss of equilibrium, and welcome the seemingly absurd as an opportunity to learn something new. To understand wit, one has to have wit, not be a half-wit.

The willfully ignorant don't understand satire or irony or sarcasm. These concepts are too demanding. Matter of fact, they can't even define satire or irony or sarcasm. But they'll belly laugh when a fellow ignoramus ridicules the intelligent, the complex, the unknown. They'll always giggle madly at a cruel insult towards that which they find difficult to understand. "Keep it simple, stupid" is their favorite mantra.

But that isn't us. No, we're brilliant. Sure we eat big macs, smoke cigarettes, toke meth, watch meaningless sports programs, never read anything but a fast food menu, and can't handle change, but we know we are the center of the universe and everyone else is just stupid.

Good for us. We're Americans after all! We don't need to think hard or read or do anything. Providence will protect us because we think we are the best, not only in the whole world, but in the whole universe! We're the real chosen people. Hooray for us!

Nah, we don't want a smart person running the country. Can't have that, you betcha! We need an oil rich boob, frat house bully and dry drunk failure who can talk macho and bankrupt the country or an anti-education boobette and irresponsible, opportunistic quitter who spouts empty cliches that make us feel good and superior.

That's what we like in a "leader," someone who appears as dumb as we are, but makes us feel happy, safe and secure in the status quo. It doesn't matter if they are rich and don't really understand the working person or if they are a political puppet who parrots the party line, we want someone who reinforces our ignorance dammit.

These cardboard heroes say what we want to hear and that makes us feel good without having to exercise our brains. After all, it makes us dizzy to think beyond a sound byte. We want our "leaders" to stick to their narrow minded positions even if new evidence proves them wrong. How can we believe in a "leader" who can change their mind? We don't even want to think about that.

We're too busy being overworked and underpaid to spend any time researching history or science. But we've accepted that and it has proven to be a good excuse. We can't learn from the lessons of the past to inform and equip our future. Nah, we prefer a nice slogan that seems to summon up what's in our empty minds. You betcha!