Nerenberg is interested in the study of stupidity and its causes so that we may choose another route and pursue wisdom instead. For all the studies on intelligence and wisdom, according to Nerenberg the study of stupidity is quite paltry in comparison. Is stupidity so stupefying that even the best minds find it beyond their capability to study? Or are we so arrogant as to consider human stupidity unworthy of our serious study? Either way, we have proven over the millennia that human stupidity is recurrent and seemingly boundless. It is neither a laughing matter nor is “Stupid!” merely an epithet to hurl at someone with whom we disagree. I’m sure that each one of us can admirably demonstrate stupidity in our own lives.

In the 1970′s Carlo M. Cipolla circulated an essay, The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity. In 1987, The Whole Earth Review republished the essay with pictures and titled it The Fundamental Laws of Human Stupidity. Due to copyright rules I cannot reproduce this article but it is easily located via google and the specific laws are listed in the wikipedia link that I have provided for Dr. Cipolla. That said, Cipolla’s definition of a stupid person is of interest. “A person is stupid if they cause damage to another person or group of people without experiencing personal gain, or even worse causing damage to themselves in the process.” Why are we consistently willing to do damage to ourselves and others?

Although I don’t think that I have THE answer, I do have one possible answer. It is a matter of lack of awareness and fear. So many times I have done stupid things by not paying attention. For example, by forgetting to a pay a bill on time, I have had to pay an extra fee to compensate for my tardiness. Not only have I made the person who provided me a service wait for their reimbursement, I have unnecessarily paid extra. This is a small example of stupidity. A much larger example of stupidity is that for a long time I was in denial about our environment. I drove unnecessarily and didn’t think much about sustainability. I told myself that the impact of my actions was minuscule and couldn’t possibly make a difference. However, I recently realized that if large numbers of people felt and acted the same way that I did, such behavior would have large and likely irreparable effects on our climate and other environmental necessities.

Fear is also a great motivator in inflicting damage on others and thus on ourselves. Violence is often a desperate response that yields damage to both self and others. Those whom we fear and distance ourselves from often then become targets of our direct and projected violence. Were we able to practice connection and caring rather than fear, violence might well be averted.

One last cause of stupidity is overwhelm. We are constantly bombarded with information. It is impossible not to feel overwhelmed at times. In an effort to steel ourselves against any more information overload we withdraw and choose not to pay attention. There are so many things requiring our attention that are worthwhile. How do we best choose? My guess is that those pieces of information that fully honor our values (as opposed to our opinions) are the ones that require our attention. We must be thoughtful and deliberate in our choices. Information that both honors our feelings and challenges our ideas will help increase our wisdom.

Stupidity lives in everyone. It is not just a symptom of low intelligence. In fact, it is not related to intelligence at all. We’ve all seen very intelligent people behave stupidly. It is about awareness, caring and noticing one’s impact on oneself and others. We can do all of ourselves a favor by staying open and aware of our own acts of stupidity. Western society encourages stuporous behavior. We deserve better than this. Wake up and pay attention. Notice your impact and help others to notice theirs. With awareness we can then cultivate wisdom rather than stupidity.

What situations are likely to cause you to harm yourself and others?

What is your relationship with stupidity?

Where do you become stuporous and act stupidly?

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I find it ludicrous that supporters of Proposition 8 find that the marriage of two lesbians or gay men undermines the institution of marriage. How can the marriage of two men or two women possibly undermine another marriage that is healthy? It seems to me that supporters of Proposition 8 view marriage as a special club. It is only open to a couple composed of one man and one woman. Any other combination must be excluded. If one is to use marriage as a weapon of exclusion, I think that love should be the exclusionary determinant. If you do not love one another, you definitely should be persuaded not to marry. As long as love, respect and honoring of each partner is present, why is it necessary to forbid people to marry?

As a Jewish woman, I am well aware of the power of the state to forbid my people our civil rights. Nazi Germany, calling on racial fears and hatreds persuaded the majority of German citizens that it was appropriate to strip Jews of their civil and human rights. Suffering under the humiliation of losing the first World War and enduring the great economic hardships that ensued, the German people needed both a scapegoat and a group of people whom they could treat as “less than”. Ultimately, they thought the Jews were vermin and completely treated them as less than human. I can’t help but wonder in what ways the proponents of Proposition 8 feel “less than” themselves.

Perhaps it is not a feeling of less than that afflicts them. Perhaps it is a fear of questioning authority. Most of these people have been taught by their religious leaders that homosexuality is a sin. It takes courage to stand up to an authority whom you trust. It also takes the willingness to think differently and entertain new ideas. Just because someone has done something one way for several generations doesn’t mean that it is the only way, the just way or the right way.

As I write today’s blog entry, I realize that I am just as close-minded as the people who voted for Proposition 8. I can’t conceive of a good reason for prohibiting gay marriage. This is an opportunity for me to go beyond my own limitation and truly try to understand someone who feels that gay marriage is unsupportable. Even more importantly, it is an opportunity for me and you, dear reader, to learn how to handle seemingly insurmountable conflicts.

If you are a Proposition 8 supporter, I have some serious questions for you and I to consider together. Where do we share common ground? What can we agree upon so that we can come to not only a meeting of the minds but a connection of hearts as well? I’m hoping that if that we can truly come to love each other and respect one another’s opinions in this matter, it is possible that other issues may become more easily resolved. This is an opportunity for all of us to learn how to resolve conflicts involving our most deeply held and cherished beliefs.

I am not a quoter of the Bible but Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, often read at Christian weddings is a wonderful guide for any marriage and seems the appropriate way to end this post.

Love

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13 (New International Version)

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I love to play with words and I can’t help but notice that the first two syllables of the word “recession” are re and cess. Taken together they form the word “recess”. According to Dictionary.com’s primary definition, recess is “a temporary withdrawal or cessation from the usual work or activity.” Now, there’s an opportunity if I ever saw one! Just the chance we have all needed to stop, take stock, look around at the wreckage and begin to re-vision a more equitable and sustainable path for ourselves and others.

If the current economy is giving you an unexpected recess, use this time to contemplate these questions:

What do you see?

What needs to be changed?

Most importantly, what do you want?

What is one positive action you can take right now?

The stock market may be in free fall and the economy in flux but asking yourself these questions is one investment opportunity that you will surely appreciate over time.

Here’s a video about one man’s “recess.” For him, recession took on a whole new meaning when he was laid off.

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