I used to say stupid should hurt more
Hopefully everyone has read 4 Scenarios for the Coming Collapse of the American Empire, but if not, let me pull out a money quote for ya:
All of these scenarios extrapolate existing trends into the future on the assumption that Americans, blinded by the arrogance of decades of historically unparalleled power, cannot or will not take steps to manage the unchecked erosion of their global position.
There are dozens of reasons for America’s decline, I suggest The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria as a good starting point for the big picture of what the world will look like. Our nation’s insane drive to use military force, the gutting of our educational system and local infrastructures, and of course the grifter class all have taken their toll, but I think there’s a factor folks aren’t mentioning.
We’re perhaps too stupid to survive.
While our nation is locked in an endless cycle of war, our economy has no pulse outside of the con game that is Wall Street, and millions are unemployed, our “ruling body” does nonsense like this:
Michele Bachmann & Allies: Obama Doesn’t Say ‘God’ Enough
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and her colleagues on the Congressional Prayer Caucus penned a letter to President Obama Monday, attacking him for his alleged failure to the use the word “God” and “Creator” more in his public speeches, especially abroad.</em>
Ok, here’s a radical idea. How about nobody mentions God and instead…you do your fucking job?
Oh, was that impolite? Well, try this. How about, if you’re an elected official, you never, ever mention god or jesus or your flying spaghetti monster of choice in public again? Believe whatever you want in private, but in public, we didn’t elect you to be a cheerleader for the almighty. You wanna preach, resign and join the seminary. Because while you’re debating how many angels exist on that pin, China is investing in green energy. While you’re mouthing useless platitudes about our “Christian nation”, India is sending its kids to technical school. And in 50 or so years, since you wasted our time and money ginning up nonsense about “wars on Christmas” and raising millions to keep gays from marrying, we’re going to be a second-rate debtor nation. Granted, one where 50% of the public believe that angels watch over them. It ain’t gonna help when the pumps run dry and junior can’t read well enough to flip burgers at Krystal.
Does anyone else find it somewhat unsettling that we have as one of our most powerful Congressmen James Inhofe, who passionately believes in something that can’t be proven, yet calls science that has been proven over and over “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people ”?
At what point do we as a nation say enough? Enough with using the Bible as “evidence” in Congress. Enough with wrapping your revulsion of gays in a Jesus sweater and calling it moral. Enough with nonsensical babble in times of crisis. Let’s move away from superstition and toward science. Instead of manufacturing fake rage, lets make solar panels.
I used to say stupid should hurt more. But I have a feeling its gonna hurt really, really bad. One day soon.
