“Dummy Down” Doldrums

What problems in America exist today requiring a societal re-awakening?

“Is human nature such that under certain conditions, stupidity can come to dominate, infecting the brighter quad rants, dragging everybody down with it.” (George Saunders)

I’ve never been to a Trump rally but from what I can tell, they represent the epitome of “Dummy Down” culture that so many of us realize now. Actually I’d be curious to witness one of these events in hope that I might find better ways to cope with such erratic crowd behavior to help our American Democracy stay intact.

So allow me to rant a bit below with some accompanying photos about some symptoms of our current societal malaise of “Dumminess” followed by some relevant scenarios from my travels that might help to reframe each of their solutions in a more uplifting manner. In doing so, I find historic inspiration from the intellect of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, the patience of President Abraham Lincoln, the generosity of entertainer Oprah Winfrey, and the humanity of Dr. Martin Luther King.

1. Unhealthy Fast Food Invasion

I am well aware of the current crisis of Americans regarding their eating habits as it’s been well documented that a majority of adults in this country in recent years are either overweight or obese. Thus I’m perplexed about why so many customers in South Florida choose to wait in long drive-thru lines at popular fast venues like Chick – fil -A to purchase largely non-nutritious fast food. Such “quick fix” living to fill the belly with too many carbs inside one’s vehicle in isolation from others cries out for a reset of where and how we eat. So alternatively, I would imagine myself instead sitting leisurely along a Parisian cafe nibbling from my pistachio nut bowl and striking up a friendly chat with a stranger as a way to be headed in the right eating direction.

2. Idiocy Of Driving Behavior

When merging vehicles come to a four way stop, there’s always need for drivers to yield. But when impatient competition sets in for such people inviting them to be discourteous to others around them, the incidence of road rage confusion escalates. So under such converging vehicle intersection circumstances, I might imagine instead being threatened with a “pride” of hungry lions as I walk along the campfire during a Kenyan safari vacation where the inviting smells of my well cooked meat on the grill await be eaten. Either animal or human will have to yield to this immediate eating temptation to grab the tasty meal and it likely will be me !

3. Warlike Appeal Of Live Sports

As I attended a National Hockey League game last week, three, separate player fights broke out within the first minute of play. As the officials struggled to clear each melee, hordes of spectators in the packed house arena went wild with sheer happiness at being entertained by such brutality. A further escalation of raucous cheering from the crowd occurred as the involved fighting players were forced into the penalty box to serve their seemingly minimal five minute suspension. So for me to just enjoy hockey as a major sport, it, I’d alternatively resist such fits of raw violent emotion from players and attendees while embracing the sport for its masterful skill of gliding so gracefully along the ice to score. To do so I would think back to my attendance at British Premier Soccer contests , where I’d witnessed London Arsenal fans in London linking arms throughout the entire match whatever the score to rejoice in the celebratory ritual of singing in unison a favorite song.

4. Childhood Soccer Anger Misplaced

Young children from my past teaching experience thrive on finding natural ways to just have fun. So what sense does it make for parents to pressure them into competitive team sports like soccer in neighborhood parks at such an early age to defeat their opponent at all cost? What happens to their fragile self esteem when they lose? For I would think of my child win or lose then as a bicycle rider in the “Le Tour de France” amid ALL participants who’ve completed this arduous endeavor and are welcomed back at the race finish by the crowd in an enthusiastically joyous manner.

5. “AI” (Artificial Intelligence) Gone Haywire

I played an app version of Geography Wordle last week and noticed a Chatbot message via “AI” offering to write me a story, song, or poem in a mere moment of time. So without any literary effort on my part, I could easily then post on social media… something unoriginal for all to see on any subject I desire. Know then from my past grading standards as a writing professor, such an easy version of writing submitted by a student who depended on AI would raise a “red flag” for me as intolerably wrong from a plagiarism perspective. I thus would  find good reason under these false writing circumstances to assign a failing grade. Thinking more deeply about how to remedy any thoughts of such technology over-dependence in such a situation, I’d picture myself driving blindly through the torrid heat and sand blown conditions of the Mojave Desert in California without benefit of “GPS” vehicle guidance or functional map directions. Instead using strictly my own spatial abilities and predictive intuition as a guide, how might I figure out my own ways to drive out of this landscape mess?