I wish I was a Moron! (Extreme vanity)

Skooz | 11.01.01 | Skooz

[Skooz]

I have been a news junky since I was a small child. I was born in 1960 and clearly remember watching the Vietnam War on TV and in the newspapers. Watergate seems like last week. I actually spent many hours watching the hearings on TV (those of you who are old enough will remember).

I have been a highly informed citizen all my life. I have spent countless hours scouring newspapers and news sites for details of political and world events.

The result? Oh, just another example of the biblical truth, "For in much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow (Ecclesiastes 1:18)." Well, that may be overstating it, but I DO look at my grossly under-informed family and friends as they stroll through life blissfully unaware of the treachery of the whacko Left and the slanted view of the media and I am a little--no, a lot--envious.

Why do I give a rat's rear end what the Liberal nuts are doing? Why can't I be like my brother-in-law who, rather than concern himself with such matters, spends countless hours and dollars fishing. He doesn't have a clue what's going on in Washington. He does not care! What bliss! He simply has no interest. His boat and his new lures are infinitely more important to him than the lies being spread by Democrats, or the loony-left's anti-war (anti-American) campaign. I see these idiots on TV and I want to pick up something and throw it at the screen--he just chuckles and turns the channel to Bonanza. How does he do that?

I'm not picking on my bro-in-law. He's actually very intelligent (probably more than I), he is just uninformed and DOESN'T CARE! I tried to give up caring about the news and current events in 1997 and 1998--when the slavish news media were groveling before King Bubba begging to follow Monica's lead. I had reached the limit to what I could endure. I just gave it up and tried to dedicated my time to my family and my guitar. I would read guitar magazines rather than the Wall Street Journal editorial page. I would watch guitar instructional videos rather than the news. But, no matter how hard I tried, I never made it until noon. Where can I find the bliss enjoyed by so many uninformed people? I want to be one of the sheeple!

[Harrison Bergeron]

Thanks. You saved me the trouble of writing the very same rant. I remember back in high school, the stupid guys got all the girls. Then in college, the education majors always seemed to have time to hang out in the SAC watching TV. Then when I started my engineering career, the guys on the production floor who still had lockers and came and went to the sound of a bell always seemed so carefree. And all these people had friends and family who loved them, just like me, so I never even had the luxury of feeling smug or superior to them.

But it's hubris, pure and simple, to think of our everyday working knowledge of politics and world events as a "burden," or ourselves "enlightened." If you read Sowell's Vision of the Anointed, this is, ironically, exactly how liberals see themselves. But more often than we'll ever know, some senator or highly placed executive somewhere sees you or I go about our daily routines, or reads one of our FR posts and says to themselves... "Ya know, this guy has it made. Not a care in the world."

[Samwise]

No. You change verb tense when you use "if" or "wish."

[ChemistCat]

Best vanity I've ever seen, including my own. My friend Janis calls me an "information junkie" and says it's pretty much pathological. The fallout from the Clinton years, the election, and now War2K have all taken turns twisting my nervous system into billions of Gordian knots.

*

I have just added your Ecclesiastes verse to my AOL autoresponder, with this note at the end: "Go ahead, increase my sorrow; leave a detailed message."

[4CJ]

LOL - but that's only temporary.

Skooz, if you really, really want to be a moron, please send all your money for my booklet. Freepmail me for the address. Once I get all your money I promise you will feel like a moron for a long, long time.

Honest ;o)

[znix]

Hang in there pal.

Knowledge is power.

[The Man Upstairs]

I wish I was a Moron!

I am the djinni of the lamp.

If you truly wish to be a moron, just rub me...

And I'll add three points to your IQ.

[browardchad]

Good points, and thanks for the link, Terriergal -- interesting.

I don't think its basic intelligence that causes the problem -- it's having opinions, and being passionate about those opinions -- traits not held in high esteem in our society. Maybe the current world situation will change that a bit, as what we're facing slowly sinks in over time...if it's not too late.

[Mr.E]

Well? Who is the Moron?

[JoeSchem]

Most people don't want to spend time on Higher Questions. They'd rather fish, garden, and golf. It's not a question of intelligence, it's a matter of self-involvement.

There are two types of people with an interest in politics: people who are on personal power trips (the ultimate in self-involvement) and people who are truly unselfish and care about what's best for society.

I notice that many people involved in politics never want to look at religious or supernatural matters, so it works on that level, too.

The Cydonia Files.

[verity]

Need new glasses. At first, I saw the word "Mormon."

[The Duke]

Hey, if you find a cure let me know...

[mercy]

A fellow phishphreak will understand this. I caught myself yesterday bemoaning the fact that I had left my radio headset at the hotel as I gazed out at a Texas Gulf wading grounds I had never explored before. I mentally slapped myself as I finished my preparations next to my 4-wheel drive parked on the beach ten feet from the lapping waves. By the time I was a mile or so out into the waist deep water stalking my usually unconqerable prey .... I was no longer thinking about 'current events' . Ah to be alive again if for only a few hours.

[seams2me]

At the Red Robin diner the other night, I got a coaster with my drink that said "If ignorance is bliss, why aren't there more happy people?"

[RayeHawk]

It was a call-back to the all the maroon (misspelled moron) posts.

this thread had me ROTFLMAO!

[Garrisson Lee]

Why do you think so many people like drugs? Look, it could be worse. My father-in-law reads a couple of papers every day and watches every news show, and is always yelling about how the republicans are destroying the country and their "agenda" has to be stopped. Now, there's a moron.

[Samwise]

Don't you just hate it when someone doesn't get your jokes? Take my husband, please....

[RayeHawk]

Take my husband, please....

Why? is he cuter than mine? *grin*

[OWK]

I wish I was a Moron!

Done.

[Skooz]

Thanks for the kind words. I fully expected a maniacal flame-a-rama when I posted this, but I found the opposite to be true. Thanks again.

[Gasshog]

I wish I had some

Cheese