The Lost Art of Common Sense

I feel like being unabashedly honest today.

 

(Oh boy… alright, hit me.)

 

I am an elitist.

 

(I…ok that was so not where I thought you were gonna go with this.)

 

I figured. But you know what? It's true. I am. I am elitist. I don't deny it, and I don't apologize for it. I'm an elitist, and you should be one, too.

 

(I think you're going to need to explain this one….)

 

Yeah, I figured that, too. I'm not elitist in the traditional, stereotypical sense; I couldn't give two bits about the car you drive, how much money you make, or how many degrees you have hanging on your wall. What I care about is how you think. So I guess I'm an intellectual elitist.

 

(But you said you don't care about degrees….)

 

I don't. Intellect has nothing to do with education. Believe me, I know some pretty dumb smart people. People can be well educated, but that doesn't mean that they possess both knowledge and practicality. No degree will ever convey upon a person the gift of common sense. I say I am an intellectual elitist because I see things, hear things, and read things that continue to astound and confound me. I look around and realize that the world truly is full of stupid, stupid people. The ignorance, stubbornness, lack of common sense, and hypocrisy we encounter on a daily basis is enough to drive one insane.

 

I recently posted something on Facebook in which I paraphrased the old adage "it is difficult to win an argument with an intelligent person; it is nearly impossible to win an argument with a stupid person." Another of my favorites is "when you're dead, you don't know you're dead. It's the same thing when you're stupid."

 

Look, I'm not perfect, far from it. But good grief I am a pretty smart guy. I know things, and not just because of what I learned in school. I observe; I read; I strive to educate myself so that I don't embody an adjective that I loathe: ignorant.

 

(Getting' a little high on yourself, aren't you?)

 

No, I'm not. And spare me the judgment and criticism. Because you know what? Most of you think the same thing I'm writing right now, but you're too afraid to say it out loud. You see the same things that I see; you hear the same things that I hear and read what I read and you think exactly like I do. The difference is that you don't want to seem like an arrogant prick by saying so. Whereas I… I don't give a fuck.

 

(Touché, pussycat.)

 

Let me give you a couple of examples of why I've come to these conclusions. Example One: You saw my response to the African lion Cecil's murder. A lot of us reacted similarly, but I chose to share my feelings on the matter via this blog. Shortly thereafter, Facebook was filled with pictures and memes deriding those that voiced their outrage over Cecil's death. One caught my attention. It basically said that Americans lose their minds over a lion, but veterans commit suicide every day and no cares.

 

I took issue with that statement, and I commented on the post by saying look, the fact that I chose to espouse an opinion about this one tragedy at this one particular time without mentioning other tragedies in the same breath does not mean that I don't care about those other issues. I went on to describe my efforts with respect to veteran's affairs and… was immediately lambasted by a woman who belittled my position, my efforts towards veterans, and COMPLETELY MISSED MY POINT. This woman was so focused on the fact that I cared about a lion's death that she refused to acknowledge or accept that I also care about veterans, and no amount of arguing would convince her otherwise. She assumed that because I spoke out about the lion's death that I held that in priority over other matters, refusing to accept that fact that people are capable of caring about more than one issue equally, and at the same time. That, my friends, plainly and simply, is ignorance.

 

Extremism in any form is detrimental, whether in politics, ideology or emotion. That's why I think the adage says that winning an argument with a stupid person is impossible – In those instances the person is so entrenched in their belief, regardless of whether there is any logical, rational basis for such a belief, that they are incapable of reason. They are extreme, and fanatical, and no matter how right or reasoned you are, you will never convince them otherwise. And I pity those people, because they are doomed to a pathetically ignorant existence.

 

Example Two: This occurred just last night, and coincidentally stemmed from another animal rights matter in which a Grizzly Bear attacked a hiker who, by all accounts, failed to follow posted safety precautions and put himself in danger. One woman expressed her opinion essentially thusly: Protecting your young is one thing, but that bear "crossed the line!!!" It was predatory! That bear needs to die, because we can't have bears "teaching their young to be man eating bears!"

 

(HAHAHAHA… You've got to be making that up. No one can be… that stupi… wait… you're making that up, right?)

 

 

*blink blink*

 

 

(Dear cripes, you're serious.)

 

Oh it gets better. I made an admittedly obnoxious comment in response, and perhaps I shouldn't have. But I just couldn't help myself, such was the level of stupid in her commentary. And yes, she had more to say, going on later to say to me "you shouldn't comment unless you have something intelligent to say on the topic."

 

(*jaw drop*)

 

Right? So I then proceeded to remind this woman that bears don't understand the concept of "crossing a line" because they are instinctual, wild animals whose sole purposes in life are to survive and protect their young. They don't teach their cubs to be man-eating bears; they teach them to survive and defend themselves. I reasoned that we cannot project human characteristics and sensibilities on animals because they don't share the same cognitive reasoning humans possess. I explained that humans, not wild animals, are the predatory threat because we invade natural habitat and, in our human arrogance, rather than respect the environment and the creatures within it, we believe then that the animal must die because it did something that wild animals do. And I cautioned that maybe if we had a little more respect for our environment and acknowledged the effect we have on it, we might not read stories about hikers getting mauled.

 

Oh, and just for kicks, I added the following: "When you suggest someone not comment unless they have something intelligent to add, you might want to heed your own advice."

 

(BOOM! *drops mic*)

 

Yeah, I was pretty proud of that one. She didn't have another thing to say after that. Maybe there is an exception to rule that you can't win an argument with a stupid person.

 

Common sense, people. It's free. It's there for the taking. All you need to do is USE IT. I don't know. Maybe my brain is wired differently. Maybe I am an arrogant prick for saying all of this. To be honest though, I really don't think I am.  What I am, is annoyed. Sure, we all say stupid things at times. We all do or say things we regret. We feel remorse, we apologize, and we move on. No one, not you, not me, nobody is immune to stupidity. But holy sweet bejeebus, people! How can you go through life believing the things you believe? Do you stop to listen to yourselves??? I mean, the answer to that query, obviously, is a resounding "no," but could you at least give it a try once in a while? What depresses me so is that this kind of ignorance can so easily be avoided by simply thinking. It's that ability that sets us apart from the bear. It's what keeps us from crossing lines or teaching our youth to hate or kill. God gave you a higher functioning brain for a reason. USE. IT.

 

(Okay, so…. Global warming: that's not real, right?)

 

*gives stink eye*

 

(*snicker* Sorry, I didn't mean to poke the bear.)

 

Really? Seriously?? With the bear pun????

 

(It was there.)

 

*sigh* Fine. I'll give you that one. Just please tell me that you get it. Please tell me that common sense still matters. Because if it doesn't….

 

 

 

© 2015 J.J. Goodman. All rights reserved.