Sometimes, you just have to wonder:
Are people born permanently stupid, or, are they made that way (over time)?
There’s no question that we’re all born stupid, but whether we stay that way, or not, is largely of our own choosing.
It’s the classic “Nature versus Nurture” argument.
And frankly, while there’s evidence both ways, there is at least ONE thing we are absolutely certain of, which is that education cures and eliminates ignorance. So, score one for the “Nurture” column.
And, if you’ll recall, there were at least two (and, perhaps more) hit comedy motion pictures which played upon that theme: One in 1983 called “Trading Places,” starring the inimitable clown-men Eddie Murphy, and Dan Akroyd, supported by Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy, and the ever-lovely and talented Jamie Lee Curtis; then in 1985 a motion picture with an obliquely similar theme entitled “Brewster’s Millions,” starring late funnyman Richard Pyor, and John Candy, supported by Hume Cronyn, Jerry Orbach, and Yakov Smirnoff; and yet another, although somewhat-lesser-known — though certainly with no less star power — in the 2014 title “Breaking the Bank,” staring Kelsey Grammer, supported by Susan Fordham, Richard Cordery, and Pearce Quigley.
In all three motion pictures, the protagonist is placed in an unexpected predicament by either the sudden presence, or lack of, abundant wealth. What they do with their lives in those stories, is comedic – though no less authentic examples of – nurture, combined with a healthy dose of nature.
And we can certainly see real-life examples of such stories in those who win phenomenal sums in lottery. Late West Virginia businessman Andrew “Jack” Whittaker, Jr. (1947-2020) is perhaps the most notable real-life example of a tragic, everything-goes-wrong-after-winning-the-lottery life story. A self-made construction business millionaire worth at least $17 million, on Christmas night 2002, then-aged 55, he purchased a winning Powerball lottery ticket which at the time was the single-largest lump-sum payout in U.S. lottery history — $315 million, which after taxes was valued at $113.4 million. In later years, he was very public about his sorrow at winning, and in a 2007 interview, stated that he wished that he’d torn up the ticket, saying,
“I’m only going to be remembered as the lunatic who won the lottery. I’m not proud of that. I wanted to be remembered as someone who helped a lot of people. I’ve had to work for everything in my life. This is the first thing that’s ever been given to me. Since I won the lottery, I think there is no control for greed. I think if you have something, there’s always someone else that wants it. I wish I’d torn that ticket up.”
But more to the point — the point being, stupidity on very public display.
In an emailed communique recently, Tennessee Banana Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn wrote the following, and shared YouTube video of her ignorant remarks which she made from the U.S. Senate floor about the House, no less.
From an email communique from Republican Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senator for Tennessee:
MASK MANDATES ARE ABOUT POWER
Washington elitists are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the American people under their control. The new guidance from the CDC doesn’t follow the science and puts the wellbeing of children in K-12 schools at risk. There is no valid reason to require a vaccinated person to wear a mask. Mask mandates and lockdowns are all about power.
What she DELIBERATELY does is couch “freedom” as being able to do any damned old thing that you want, WITHOUT regard for anyone else.
That is NOT “freedom.”
That is selfishness and stupidity.
Musician/singer/song-writer Eric Johnson, in his song “Sad Legacy” from his 2005 album entitled “Bloom,” wrote in part that,
“There’s no such thing as freedom
Without some responsibility.
All this shock and surprise…
But we’ve been throwing out a mean boomerang,
And now it’s coming back at us.”
As has oft been stated, “your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins.”
Furthermore, in her remarks, she deliberately DENIES the scientific facts.
And to be certain, despite her claims otherwise, the former President did NOT Read the rest of this entry »
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