It seems that not a day goes by when I read about or am a witness to something stupid. Whether it's a man who sets his house on fire while trying to kill weeds in his yard with a flamethrower (yes, this happened!) or a kid who cuts a large hole out of a brand-new soccer net just for kicks, it appears that the majority of the people that we are surrounded by are not aware of or don't care about the consequences of their actions.
A prime albeit fictitious example is the National Film Board of Canada's animated short "Every Dog's Guide to Complete Home Safety". A specially trained dog named Wally is assigned to the house of a toddler whose parents are complete morons. Accidents and near-accidents happen at lightning speed, eventually forcing Wally to remove the toddler from the house.
"We have got soft. We are too kind. So we allow complete idiots to breed. Nature would not be so kind," commented a friend once. I concur. But it's not only that; there are now too many distractions from life to allow people to cultivate knowledge or improve themselves. The very tools that were supposed to make people better or smarter have served in many cases to disconnect people from their environment. Check out a book at the library? Nope, read it on the Internet. Hang out with friends at the mall? Nope, chat on Facebook or Twitter. Take in a stage play or concert? Nope, watch it on TV. And don't forget the folks getting hit by cars because they're too busy listening to their music player or texting on their phone to look before crossing the street.
We all do stupid things from time to time. But if a person is stupid consistently, the law of averages will catch up sooner or later.
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