When was the last time you were confronted with a situation where you found extremely hard to control your fist, or if not, your mouth, because you were called stupid? If that made you angry, then trust me, you got it completely wrong. It’s the persons who called you so that are stupid. Their stupidity emanates from the fact that they are jealous of the gifts you have. Sounds very stupid, right? Well, allow me to back up my intelligent argument in defense of stupidity.
To begin with, stupid people are never asked to do a lot. We all know that people tend to steer away from stupid persons. These people therefore end up having a whole lot of free time, doing some simple tasks here and there. [break]
I have always been fascinated by life—to me a simple definition of life thus far has been a compilations of acquaintances made since my birth. I got to know my parents soon after I was born. Life acquired a meaning for the very first time. Next up, I made hundreds of friends, and met many teachers. Then I met good bosses and idiotic bosses, and for a moment life’s meaning changed again. My perspective of life continued to change—I came to terms with the unfairness of life. Then came a chance meeting with my would-be life partner, we got married, and life became all about joy and happiness. Between all these, not everyone I met was intelligent, or even average.
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To start with, there was this teacher in my high school who for some reason would force us to do the most stupid things in class. During grade eight, in an agriculture class, right after the first lecture he took us to the fields. This particular school had a huge farm land where more than a dozen fields could easily fit, unlike school these days where all you find is one basketball court. He would tell us what kind of crops should be planted and in what manner. He would sit under the shade and carry on with his lecture, in between asking us to dig here and there, and tell tales about what agriculture means to this country, telling us that only agriculture could save this impoverished nation.
Sometimes he would even carry a blown up map of the country to that shade and tell us which crops were cultivated in which part of the country. In essence, we were thoroughly brainwashed by him in believing that agriculture is a practical subject. We voted him our best teacher, for everything he said seemed logical. We happily spent the rest of our year in the fields, until the day we had to sit for exams. It was only then that we realized that digging fields and writing about preparing land for cultivation were completely different propositions, for we never had gone through the textbook. Given the fact that we were in grade eight and not doing some master’s program, we all did bad. But the teacher continued to maintain his position as the favorite teacher for at least a couple years!
Life took a completely different turn when I suddenly lost my father years later. I still remember those horrific thirteen days when I was kept in total confinement. No doubt the loss was immense, shock unbearable. And in the midst of something that bad, I got caught doing something stupid by the priest. He caught me in possession of a pen and a diary—apparently an insane thing to do in the situation! Every member of the family had something to say about my stupidity, albeit in a toned down version. And today, after all these years, the pages that I managed to write in those thirteen days still continue to be my best companions. Being stupid then certainly helped me.
In public life, I have always noticed that the saner I try being, the more difficulty I end up facing. You try being a good Samaritan and stand in a queue, and someone sneaks in front of you. All you do is utter the word ’stupid’. And by the time you reach to whatever counter you were queuing up for, that ‘stupid’ would probably have managed to complete a dozen things in his to-do list, whereas you just manage one! Shouldn’t I have tried being stupid for a while? You wonder.
As a nation we have failed miserably for quite a while now. As commoners, we make the comment on different occasions that certain stupid people in the guise of leaders have forced us into this pathetic state of affairs. The feeling intensifies when you are cramped inside some dilapidated public bus, and a sleek vehicle with sirens blowing passes you by, with the bodyguards and escorts completely dismissing your presence. You can’t help but appreciate the perks the so-called ‘stupids’ enjoy!
In normal life, I am sure you must have referred a doctor to someone at some point. I encounter these situations more often because my wife happens to be a doctor. I have seen her struggle hard, trying to find the best in the business, in recommending specialists. But ironically, she almost always ends up drawing flak than appreciation for her recommendations. A good specialist obviously would want to be sure of the diagnosis, and therefore would ask the patient to do at least a couple tests. But for many people, these tests are nothing but creepy ways of making money. So they turn around and land up in the clinic of some other doctor who right away recommends ‘antibiotics’, and in two days, the child is okay. This doctor suddenly becomes a ‘hero’ in the family circle. You hear the name come up in social gatherings with a special mention of how good he or she was, managing to cure without even conducting a simple test. Look around, and you will probably find many of these stupid doctors reigning supreme instead of others who want to do things the right way.
On a lighter note, it is assumed that stupid people cannot differentiate between mediocre and excellent work. This isn’t that bad, if you seriously think about it. For example, if you were stupid and did a certain task, no one will be able to understand what you were trying to do, except you. You almost have a patent right of sorts over your chores. In such a case, the chances of being fired from work are bleak, for the management cannot find anyone to replace you. The only option left to them would be motivating you by offering higher perks. Now, isn’t that great?
Finally, I am sure you all cherish the days you spent in your school or college. Now, try recalling the last time you had a reunion with your long-lost friends, and I am sure the topic you all discussed was all the stupid things you did, rather than the “not-so-stupid” things. And, during the course of your intimate and absorbing conversation, the chances are that the many of the “not-so-stupid” friends did not get even a single mention, while the names of the so-called stupid ones kept popping up time and again. Stupid guys certainly hog the limelight during such gatherings. What this all boils down to is that if you are stupid, you will always be amongst your friends even after years in wilderness, while the intelligent ones will simply get lost in oblivion even in times of togetherness.
So next time you feel being tagged stupid, breathe deep and think of all the benefits that tag brings along.
hiteshkarki@gmail.com
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