On Thinking
Sorry if I offended any stupid people. They have rights, too, you know. But the great thing about stupid people is that you can never find anyone who considers themselves to be one.
Steve Martin once did a routine where he reminded the audience about the time when the earth was destroyed by aliens. Remember? And everyone had to move to this new planet? Remember? And we decided not to tell the really stupid people...? O-oh.
So I spent some time thinking about stupidity, and came to the conclusion that it isn't really about being stupid. It's about not thinking. Thinking is hard work. It isn't just a matter of putting two and two together to get four. Sometimes it's algebra or geometry, or something George W. Bush used to refer to as "fuzzy math."
In my job, I'm required to think. I have to take highly technical information gathered from disparate sources and combine it into a graphic representation so that anyone can understand it, and do it in such a way that it isn't "dumbing down" the information.
When I start, I have no idea how I'm going to do it, and I complain that it's impossible. But I work at it, try different solutions, and keep going. When I eventually solve the problem it's because I did the hard work of thinking, and not giving up.
So if a lot of people believe the hogwash about Bush's war in Iraq, in the face of well-publicized data to the contrary, it isn't necessarily because they're stupid. It could well be that they are either too lazy or too tired to really think. It's easier to just go along with the TV.
Then again, there's the campaign speech Bush gave yesterday in Downington, Pennsylvania. Here's a random sampling:
In addition, an independent study estimates that John Kerry's plan would impose at least 225 new regulatory mandates on small businesses. One group looked at the plan and described it as an overpriced albatross. (Laughter.) That's being kind. (Laughter.) This is a plan that will create burdens that our job creators cannot afford and do not deserve. (Applause.) And the plan costs a lot -- $1.2 trillion. That's with a "The." That's a lot. (Laughter.) And he says, oh, don't worry, I'm going to pay for it all by taxing the rich. You can't raise enough money by taxing the rich to pay for a $1.2 trillion health care plan. Matter of fact, if you run up the top two brackets, it raises between $600 billion and $800 billion, so there is a gap between what he promises and how he says he's going to pay for it. And guess who usually fills the gap? Yes, you do.
There's also something else wrong with saying to tax the rich. The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason, to slip the tab to you. We're not going to let him tax you. We're going to carry Pennsylvania on November the 2nd. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
I guess they are just stupid.
12:30:09 PM 
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