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Quote of the Day – Ignorance and Stupidity
“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” – Benjamin Franklin
Unfortunately, it seems those who work hardest at remaining stupid are intent on becoming Progressives. And as I noted in a previous QOTD they make life difficult for others.
Published in General
I hate calling people stupid. I would hate to be called stupid. But they are stupid. And seem invested in staying that way. Thanks for the chance to vent, Seawriter.
I’m reminded of a corollary from Ronald Reagan:
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I agree with absolutely everything you said. Except….the first sentence.
Archie Bunker/Obama mashup on the subject….
Why? It’s a possibly legitimate characterization of a person’s inability to think deeply or clearly. There are more verbose ways of expressing the same idea but stupid encapsulates it in one word.
By the way, some people seem to take ignorant as an insult also. To me, it means there’s something I don’t know. I admit to being ignorant about all kinds of stuff. But it turns out the word has a couple of other meanings (New Oxford American Dictionary):
I’ve gotten into trouble saying that another person was simply ignorant. It turns out to be surprisingly difficult to clear up the misunderstanding.
There is an old saying I subscribe to: “It is better to know nothing than to learn nothing.” The list of stuff I don’t know is a whole lot longer than the stuff I do know, although I keep trying to reduce what I do not know through learning.
@drlorentz, I think the term stupid is often used to denigrate another in an arrogant way. People have different kinds of smarts–street smart, intellectual smart, down-to-earth smart, and so on. It certainly can be used accurately, but I think it is usually meant to insult. I agree with your use of ignorant, actually. But again, people often use it to attack another. Then again, others can take it that way unjustly. Ah, language–so complex! ;-)