by Donald Finley

Created on: June 26, 2008

Stupidity has gradually been gaining mainstream acceptance over the past few decades. The more appropriate question is probably not "When?", but "Why?" Both of the questions can be answered by a simple word: television. Remember Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello and Lewis and Martin? Who got the laughs? The stupid guys.

Look at how adults are portrayed today. Parents are the ditsy, clueless characters, while kids are the geniuses. At one point in our history, if you wanted to increase your lot in life, you first knew you had to work harder. Now, all you need is your big break. Get on a game show or a reality TV show. Being stupid is rewarded with prize money or laughs. It turns people into role models. Look at our bad-boy sports figures; they are big and strong and athletically capable, but many can't form words into a coherent sentence. But they make lots of money and our children look up to others not for their brains, but for their talent, income and looks.

Look at the women. Someone once complained that a woman had to be flat-chested and weigh under 100 pounds to buy clothes off the rack at any department store. The high fashion models starve themselves, but make millions, and influence our young girls as role models. The other curvier women model swimsuits or for men's magazines where the measure of success has nothing to do with brains, but how little they will wear. I once saw a model interviewed; she was asked the question, "Who won the Civil War?" Her answer, "We did." The saddest part was not her answer, but her total lack of understanding about how stupid she was. She had no capacity for embarrassment because she was too stupid to know how stupid she was. Watch a Miss America or Miss Universe pageant and listen to their answers.

We have the Hollywood elite as role models. You can count on your fingers how many actors and actresses you've heard of who have college degrees. They make money, live the high life, and have looks. That's what appeals to our kids today. Celebrity lives play out like soap operas. Most teens can tell you more about Brittany Spears or Jessica Simpson than their homework. They care more about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt than the consequences of the upcoming Presidential election because they are conditioned to believe their future is shaped more by celebrities than by politicians.

Where are the successful intellectuals? Can you name a single prominent scientist? They are out there. They, and the people like them, make the world

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