Photo: Rick Burnett Baker, Rochester NY
The Constitutional Right of Stupidity
"The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
-Paul Simon
And so they are, and they’re graffitied on abandoned water tanks at a park in Rochester, NY. Artists paint, and other prophets leave their take on whatever’s on their minds. Like a global crisis.
We have the luxury in the United States of being able to be and remain stupid. It’s a constitutional right, it seems. My generation, Boomers, are a borderline generation whereby some of us learned critical thinking skills, (or we were at least made aware of that notion) and others of us are, for whatever reason, simply stupid. Not ignorant, just stupid. Ignorance can be remedied. Stupidity, much more difficult to remedy if a person doesn’t know what ignorance is. And we in this country have had, and still do have, all the tools of knowledge available to us to NOT be ignorant. When a person chooses to not remedy whatever they’re ignorant about, then they become stupid. There’s just no excuse for that.
Unfortunately, the generations after us Boomers - Millennials, or X or Z or whatever they’re called this month - are in jeopardy of being stupid, if not more stupid. Our country is seeing this daily on (un)social media, in general media, and in the streets with various protests around the country during this Covid -19 crisis.
Photo: Sergio Flores/Getty
Protesters have displayed some of the most moronic sayings on signs that I’ve ever seen. For example, a face mask represents tyranny. Clearly those idiots don’t know the definition of the word, and were sadly (stupidly) absent during history and civics classes in school. (Silly me: I’m assuming that those subjects are still taught in schools) The fact that those mental degenerates are allowed to be on the streets protesting should be their first lesson about the definition of the word ’tyranny’: If they were living in a tyranny, they would NOT be on the street protesting. Morons.
Photo: Mark Makes/Getty
More recently, I’ve seen a sign that conflates the issue of reproductive rights with the right to possibly endanger others’ health by not wearing a mask. No, Skippy, it’s not your body, your choice, it’s our bodies depending on your choice. To all these people, let me suggest that they pay attention to the tyranny of having to wear a car seatbelt. Stop doing that, and if you’re in an accident, try to quickly recite the 1st Amendment as you are hurled violently through the windshield of the car and flung to injury or death. God bless Amurhaka! Choice, indeed.
Finally, to any yuk yuks who disagree with my assessment I’ll simply say this: You’re wrong! This is a GLOBAL crisis. Get it? Amurhakins aren’t the only nation of people having to follow rules in this crisis. We are NOT special, nor are we grandfathered into some form of exceptionalism during this crisis. Get the hell over yourselves. Wear a mask. Social distance. Take responsibility for your lives and the lives of others. And stop being stupid: Stupidity ain’t in the Constitution!
© Rick Burnett Baker
June 1, 2020
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