stupid

Blessed are the meek . . .

by asmwizard

(As printed in the Leavenworth Times, May 4, 2012.)

One of the best known of the eight Beatitudes (verses beginning with “Blessed are the . . .”) in Mathew is “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”  This is an oft-quoted verse.  J. Paul Getty is said to have added,  “. . . but not the mineral rights.” 

Remember, Mathew’s original writings were in Hebrew, then translated to Greek by some unknown person, then into Latin.  Although there were earlier partial versions of the Bible in older forms of English, William Tyndale is credited with the first translation of the New Testament into early modern English (first printed in 1525), and he is said to have worked directly from original Greek and Hebrew versions.  I don’t know who chose the word “meek” as a translation of the original Hebrew word.  “Meek” has multiple meanings: now it can mean humble, compliant, docile, or without spirit.  In Tyndale’s time, it  seems to have meant unaggressive or unwarlike.

I’m wondering about the meaning of the corresponding word in the original Hebrew.  Perhaps it was improperly translated.  I suspect it meant “stupid”, and that those folks may have ALREADY inherited the earth.

In my belief system, stupid are those who don’t see our massive national debt or huge deficits as threats to America’s future, who won’t consider reforming entitlements, who won’t address our nation’s energy problems, who keep piling on regulations that hamper our economy, and who keep attacking the opposing party when they try to solve these problems. 

Why do I think they may have already inherited the earth?  Because they currently control our government and have already fostered the growth of dependence on government largesse, to the point where no conservative may ever win another national election.  Their clones control many European countries, where Greece, Italy, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal among others are in deep trouble because they have ignored fiscal responsibility too long, and too many people have come to depend on big government – collecting money without working.

Stupid are those who think the government can keep on borrowing and printing money forever, so they will always have the entitlements they depend on.  Prices are ever-increasing, but they don’t see that government policies are the cause. They are the ones who think no reforms of entitlements should be attempted.  They deride the Ryan plan, and call it “destructive” or “radical”.  They think Obama is doing a good job as president, and should be re-elected.

Have the stupid already inherited the earth?  The jury is out.  I believe we’ll find out in November.

 

The IQ of the public

by asmwizard

(As published in the Leavenworth Times, February 28, 2012.  This is personal bias — I have long believed the general public is effectively stupid, as are most subsets of it.)

Psychologists have long argued about intelligence testing in humans.  Various tests, such as Stanford-Binet, attempt to measure it, and scores are reported around an average of 100.  Some populations have a higher average, some lower, but 100 is the assumed value.  You might think that the IQ of the public itself (taken as a sort of multi-celled animal) is the same.  I maintain the IQ of the public as a whole is closer to zero.  Why?  The smart and the stupid cancel each other out. 

The behavior of the public is  like that of an amoeba, which has no brain, but reacts to stimuli.  For the public, stimulus is information and propaganda, and response can be measured through opinion polls and elections (the ultimate polls).   The information the public receives is a bewildering mixture of truth and lies.  The public has no organ to determine the validity of the information, but various portions of the public respond well to certain sources – Democrats tend to believe anything whatever said by other Democrats, for example.  Almost no logic is involved.

An amoeba follows a pattern.  It swims, or at least moves, slowly through still water.  It encounters particles from time to time.  It absorbs, then either digests or expels them.  The public doesn’t swim – information flows to it, is ingested.  A very small portion is retained, the rest rejected.   

Amoebas reproduce by dividing.  The public can be subdivided too, and the various parts continue to resemble an amoeba.  Consider the United States Congress: made up of very smart people, it gives the impression that it is collectively stupid.  Ideology cancels out the good that either side might do.  I won’t mention the arrogance and ignorance of politicians, and the difficulty of the problems they seek to solve.  

Consider Democrats:  the good some of them would do is offset and hindered by the destructive ideas of the far left: Communists and Socialists.  Republicans are similarly split and hampered.  Establishment Republicans resist change, while the more conservative want reform. 

I have a point to all this: the Republican public – the brainless amoeba — has a knack for choosing the wrong candidate for president.  They are doing so again.  What America needs is a determined reformer: Gingrich.  The Republican amoeba appears to be selecting either Santorum or Romney.   All three candidates are smart, but one is smarter and has specific plans for reform.  Check their websites for detail.  Santorum has offered some plans, Romney almost none.  Gingrich has extensive and rather detailed plans to reform America.  Gingrich is a PhD, has long legislative experience, a record of success, and a very high IQ.  He has long thought about and written several books on how to improve America’s future.  Romney and Santorum can’t match that.  Gingrich, after a long career, has more baggage, but his faults do not lessen the abilities he would bring to the presidency.   

The Republican amoeba eventually preferred Gingrich, but when negative (mostly erroneous) information dominated the stimulus, it turned away.   Debates provided a boost in South Carolina, which preferred Gingrich, then the Florida public selected Romney after a flood of negative ads.  The public has elevated five different candidates (Perry, Cain, Gingrich, Romney, Santorum) to first place, only to let them fade.  Where’s the intelligence? 

Do you need absolute proof that the public has no intelligence?   Obama’s approval rating is climbing.  Nearly 50% now say they approve of the job he’s doing as president.  The amoeba strikes again.