by pegger » Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:36 pm
Here's the problem.....Stupidity is a behaviour.
Behaviour is learned. Ring a bell and the dog salivates....proven long ago.
So what I am saying is that stupidity is a trait that is learned. Passed down from generation to generation, or from mentor to student.
Take your average stupid government worker that Jet has brought up. Stupid? Or just not taught a more logical thought process?
Their "stupidity" is the definition granted by those who see the lack of logical judgement practiced by the accused stupidee. However to the accused, their actions are "normal". It's what they have learned to do, it' how they've been shown to act and present themselves. They have, in their mind, done exactly the right thing, and they accept it as normal. Others see it as a demonstration of Stupidity. I personally blame unions for degrading the work ethics of the common worker. They have been taught by their union leaders, fellow employees, and their managers that the administration (the smart people) are a bunch of stupid people, who have no clue. They are taught to do no more than what they absolutely have to do in their job, and if they do more they may be hurting another union members job. This is a discussion for another day though...so let's carry on.
Now OAM brings up another good point. However, is it the level of education that makes a person stupid? I think not. It's the choices they make, based on the values and behaviour they have learned. And where did they learn this? PARENTS!!
I was raised to believe that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to accomplish, and that if I did not accomplish it, I would at least carry the pride of having tried. These values are what I pass down to my own children now. So I went through the education system taking the university entrance stream. Was I going to university? I didn't know...I was 14 when I had to choose the stream, but my parents taught me that if I wanted something, then I had better set myself up to get it. So off I went to get educated...
So as I reached the grades 10, 11, 13 phase of my life, what I wanted, was not the amazing grades and education that I had enrolled for, but fast cars, varsity glory playing sports, and girls....And I did what I had to do to get what I wanted. Was it stupidity? Maybe some would classify it as a stupid decision, but I did not, because I had been taught that "Stupidity" was not doing what I had to do to get what I wanted.
Come the age of 18, I left high school with a diploma (barely) but I was finished what I set out to do, and I was happy. I had made good decisions, not stupid ones, in my mind.
I went to work. Menial (although well paying) labouring and manufacturing jobs. I enjoyed it. And again, I had made a good decision, not a stupid one. Come the age of 20, I realized that the work was not satisfying. I had to get something better for myself. As my parents had taught me. Getting what I wanted was my own responsibility afterall, so back to grade 1w I went to get better marks to allow post secondary education. The rest is history.
So where am I going with this? Again...Stupidity is learned, and what kids today are learning from their parents is that entitlement and ignorance is more valuable than self improvement. These kids are learning that they should just expect a job with no real qualification, they should just expect a paycheque with no real effort put forth, and that if something bad happens to them, it is the fault of someone other than themselves. Is that Stupidity? In my eyes it is, but to those accused of stupidity, they are doing nothing wrong, and that's how they see the world.
Do they think I'm stupid for going to grade 12 twice, taking 4 years of university, and then another 4 years of specialized training, then 2 years of articleship and multitudes of professional exams to get where I am today? They probably do.
engineering department built the sidewalks too close to my ass. 
Re: Stupid people, news, etc.
