My answer: "People are stupid because the system is broken, the system is broken because people are stupid"
All our systems are broken. Health care, government, education, whatever, if there is some "system" it is broken. Why? Well because people are stupid.
So, let us define stupid. Stupid does not mean that they are not intelligent. (Ok, there are some folks out there that have, in groups of 5, as much brain activity as a fungus) People lack the ability to truly think. They are stressed and always in a rush so they don't take the time to think. Not thinking is my definition of stupid. If you don't think, then you need a system to handle your life. Just follow the steps and you will get to the end.
Like solving a Rubik's cube. For every pattern on the cube there is a memorizable system to solve it. So in life people develop systems to get through their day. These systems become automatic and they fail to pay attention to life and realize that the system they developed while not thinking is flawed and broken.
Example.
Wake up, shower, get dressed, wake the kids, fight with kids to get them ready, get lunches packed, rush them off to school, drive to work (I got this great shortcut but there is an accident so now I am going to be late), do the job, pretend I like it, lunch break but I don't relax, I talk to my coworkers about how we all hate our boss or job or relationship or last night's Big Brother or Idol show. Then back to work for a few more hours, then rush to get kids from daycare, rush home, feed family, off to dance or soccer or hockey or something else, rush home get homework done, clean house, get kids to bed, then collapse and watch some mindless distraction on TV (Idol, Big Brother, Honey Boo Boo) and then try to get some sleep. (how can you sleep if you cannot relax?) the mind stresses about bills, retirement, mortgage rates, aging parents are getting sick etc etc. Finally sleep... ALARM! lets do it again!
This is life? No. This is a system to get through the day, that is all, and it is broken. We all live it to some degree or another.
Education System. The teachers and students are all living the example life I just described.
Justice System. Everybody involved there is also living that life
Governmental Systems. Also the same life
Health care system. Holy smokes, look at that, the same humans living that same life! (Only here people get dead because of it)
Nobody is thinking, therefore everyone is stupid. This leads people to come into where I work to order business cards for their new business. But they have not named said business, they don't have a phone number, email, or any of the other information you may want to have on that business card, prompting the question: "why are people so stupid?" (This happens at least once a week BTW)
The system is broken. So why not ditch the system and figure out how to live life.
There needs to be a fundamental shift in how we go about our days. Bring the life back into living. Our children go to school to learn, but they never learn how to think or solve problems. They memorize facts, figures and systems for solving problems. My kids were lucky, they were able to go to a charter school in Calgary that did teach them to think, and they both received 'Gifted' diplomas. Not everybody gets this kind of education. Parents send their kids to school, where teachers are required to raise our kids. Day-cares also need to raise them. Parents are too busy working and rushing the kids to hockey or dance to raise them. Broken system.
When was the system not broken? For me I think it was working after WWII. During the 50s and 60s and into the 70s mom was usually home. Kids went to school, came home to mom for a loving lunch, then after school, mom was there again to nurture and develop our minds, hearts and souls.
But then when I 'came of age' I had to work, the mother of my children had to work just to make ends meet. Nobody is at home anymore to provide the kids with a stable base of operations. They go from being bullied at school, to being bullied at daycare, then back home where they get bullied into dancing, music, hockey, swimming, soccer or whatever. Or even worse, there is nobody there because the single parent is working 2 jobs to keep the lights on and keep some crappy processed food in the cupboards and try to keep the children from feeling left out by getting them the material things that their peers have.
Why is the system broken? Well we have allowed our fundamental family system to fall apart. Everybody is alone and stressed. How many of your neighbors are your friends? Would you leave your newborn baby with the people next door if there was an emergency? Our communities are just collections of houses where people are existing, not living. I know very few of my neighbors. I chat with them from time to time when we encounter each other outside.
No real family anymore
No sense of community
No sense of belonging
People feel alone, even when surrounded by people. This creates stress. When there is stress, the body and mind react on instinct, our ability to think becomes impaired. We become stupid, and we create broken systems.
So before this becomes a giant wall of text (more giant) let me ask you this:
How do we fix the system?
Over the next few weeks, we will think out loud about how our broken system(s) are killing us, and what we can do to fix it and to bring back the true joy of stress free living.
Bring back the Love of Life.
Further reading:
Understanding stress (Harvard Medical School)
Stress Chemicals (poisons produced by stress that turn off our immune systems)
Cortisol
Epinephrine
Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts. Dare to think out loud!
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