John Wayne said it best: “Life is tough. It’s even tougher when you’re stupid.” Stupidity is not just about not knowing things. It’s about refusing to think critically. It’s about repeating nonsense until it sounds like wisdom.

Voltaire said, “The more often a stupidity is repeated, the more it gets the appearance of wisdom.” Think about how people used to believe that bleeding someone with leeches could cure them of illness.

Fox “News” conspiracy theories and blind allegiance to populists all demonstrate how dangerous the combination of power and stupidity can be. We are witnessing how disinformation is strategically employed to secure political power and divide societies.

Stupidity and power go hand in hand. The more power someone has the more likely they are to stop thinking critically and just start being, well, stupid. We need to insure that our opinions are truly our own based on facts and careful thought rather than someone else’s nonsensical comments.

Jerry Hoare

Jim Thorpe