Born Dumb, Die Dumb

Why, with all we have available to us, do we allow ourselves to be stupid, ignorant and close minded? It seems that we all fall victim to this constant in life. We refuse to believe that history will inevitably repeat itself with ourselves being the offenders. At first, I believed that we were all created equally. With a chance at doing whatever it was that our heart desired. Brilliance in any facet of life. This is a possibility to only fewer people than I could imagine. Perhaps it begins when we are young, how we're raised, what we are led to believe. Seemingly though, this might only curb your natural born handicap in a few ways.

I remember the day, not exactly, that I instantly made up my mind on the way that I felt about everything. It was the worst day of my life. I had accepted ignorance into my life by slamming the door of my open mind, closing it. I was probably close to sixteen. The time when everybody has it all figured out, the black and white so clear. As I grew, visited a different country, faced death or at least the constant threat daily, I realized how out of touch I really was. The worst part, you could've told me this till I was blue in the face, but pride, ego, my best defenders would've kept your words at bay, no matter how true their tides could've been.

I look around, the men I've met in the military. They are from everywhere, have all kinds of ideas on the way things should be, and how they can best serve not only themselves, but the world. The ideas are vastly different though they fly under a common American theme. We are broad in our spectrum and ever so right in our own minds. The men in the military are some of the best I've ever met. We all share one thing at least in common; selfless-service. It's not a theme in today's America, but certainly in the minority that plans to keep an America going. Despite the similarities that we may all share, there are differences that cannot be overcome. Someone, someplace, something failed them at an early age. Closed doors, closed minds, and no matter what can be said or shown to some, the idea will just not settle. It will not even be pondered. We are not all meant to be great. The responsibility needs to be placed in the hands of those capable and responsible. Both slim numbers that rarely coincide with one another. Inevitably, we all are stupid. Unwilling to learn from the mistakes of others, and so sparingly will learn from our own. Or worse, won't.

We continue to do stupid things at an increasing rate. DUI's, teen pregnancy, war. We don't even realize that we are digressing because we refuse to believe that anything is our fault, our responsibility. We've made everybody an equal when we all are not. We cannot all be created equal, will never be so. It's a sad fact, but a true one. Social pandemics, class, fairness, all just excuses we play to hold ourselves from achieving whatever potential we have, or simply the players in the game that make us realize what we are. Just a thought, not right or wrong. Something perhaps to just think about. Look around, what's going on? Do we really know? Have we lost that much touch.


Don't know where you are