This explains it all in Daydreaming on the Porch

Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer

It’s not something that occurred in a vacuum — this precipitous decline of America and the middle class that took off during the eight-year tragicomedy that was the Reagan years, and culminated in the neo-Fascism of the Trump administration, a hellscape that even the artist Hieronymus Bosch could not have adequately painted. (https://ebay.to/3CiOyFR)

Lack of education, inability to think for themselves, racism, willingness to be part of a cult, extreme anti-intellectualism — all these traits have been embedded the people of this country since the beginning. It’s nothing new, only much, much more real and dangerous now when the fate of the earth and civilization hangs in the balance. People are going about their business today during an ongoing pandemic in a determined daze, oblivious to how quickly things are heading south with global warming. There’s little or no time left to turn things around, but never fear: “Technology will save us.”

A famous work by the 18th century Spanush painter and printmaker, Francisco Goya, is titled: The sleep of reason produces monsters.His work has never been more relevant than today.

Goya: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sleep_of_Reason_Produces_Monsters

The full article containing the quotation above is here:

https://link.medium.com/sRLMULn3dlb

Last updated November 16, 2021