Stupid

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about stupidity. A Polish-born Lutheran pastor who started life the turn of the 20th century and died in a German concentration camp, he recognized and argued that "stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice". After all, evil could be exposed and fought against but stupidity was far more insidious and left us defenseless. It could not be as easily dismantled. 

Bonhoeffer stated that stupidity was not merely intellectual deficiency, but a moral one. Arguing with the stupid got one nowhere since their certainty hadn't been passed through any kind of sieve of critical thinking. 

Today we live in an age where some wear their stupidity like a badge. They don't need research or expertise but simply enough certainty steeped in a fervent belief which substitutes for intellectual rigor. 

Social media has helped unite and feed the imbecile and they find solace in groups of like minded people who don't believe in vaccines, a spherical earth or that the moon was ever landed on. They regularly fall for conspiracy and feast on it with delight. 

I used to be more stumped by the prevalence of stupidity and the lack of interest in making sure one has done their homework. However today I understand it through the recognition that there are many people who are petrified of greys and would rather bathe in black and white ideas without examining them too deeply. For conviction is far more important to them.

It is what allows them to sleep comfortably at night.