I seriously wonder what is wrong with people.
What motivates a woman with a young child to drive her SUV into law enforcement officers - only to be shot to death for her stupidity? Renee Good did no good, changed nothing, except leave behind a 6 year old orphan (his dad died in 2023).
What motivates a man to kick the back end of a law enforcement vehicle, breaking the tail light, sustain a injured rib, then return to the site of protests a week later and then insert himself into an altercation between law enforcement and a woman - have his concealed weapon discovered, and get shot to death for his stupidity? Alex Pretti's shooting is not pretty. Circumstances are still under investigation, but his persistent protest against ICE and against the rightful deportation of illegal aliens displays very poor decision making. And he is a nurse?
WHY? While this has haunted my mind for weeks and months (long before Good and Pretti), I "coincidentally" ran across a Facebook reel that mentioned Bonhoeffer's Theory of Stupidity and how it relates to evil. There is no such thing as coincidence.
German Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theory defines
stupidity not as a lack of intelligence but as a moral failing, a lack
of independent thinking that makes people susceptible to evil,
especially under totalitarianism, where they become tools for evil by
embracing simplistic, self-serving narratives, losing their critical
capacity, and abandoning responsibility, effectively becoming
instruments of evil rather than simply unintelligent people.
Eureka! For decades, I avoided calling a person "stupid." I might call an action or situation stupid, but I refrained from using that term against a person because I thought it was so demeaning. Until recently. Behavior has become so unhinged and illogical to me, I find myself characterizing people and politicians as "stupid" more and more.
Turns out I am right. And there is a reason for it.
An amazing answer penned in the 1940s (!) by Bonhoeffer as he observed behavior of people during his 18 months imprisoned in Nazi camps and in the years before, during the rise of the Nazi regime. He saw seemingly normal people become complicit in horrific acts through mental
laziness and a desire to belong or get ahead.
It unquestionably explains everything going on today, regardless of party, although in my view at this time, it seems more virulent in leftist democrats.
(Interesting point: I found the graphic below on a site of an anti-ICE minister, so he is apparently calling out right-wing conservatives as stupid. This is how the world spins right now.)
Key Aspects of Bonhoeffer's Theory of Stupidity:
- Not Innate Lack of Intellect:True stupidity, for Bonhoeffer, isn't about low IQ; it's a choice or condition where individuals stop thinking critically and become receptive to simplistic, often malicious, propaganda.
- Moral, Not Intellectual:It's a failure of will and character, a "stupidity of the soul" that makes people turn away from truth and responsibility.
- Tool of Power:In an age of mass movements and dictatorships (like Nazism), people willingly surrender their minds, becoming easily manipulated by those in power, making them "instruments of evil".
- Loss of Critical Thinking:Stupidity involves an abdication of personal judgment, allowing external forces (propaganda, ideology) to dictate thoughts and actions, as seen in the German populace during the Nazi era.
- Contagious:Like a disease, this form of stupidity spreads, making it harder for thoughtful individuals to resist.
In essence, Bonhoeffer saw stupidity as a dangerous
force that enabled evil by creating passive, unthinking followers,
making it a central concern in his ethics and resistance.
So, what is the solution to less stupidity? Before the next civil war starts would be nice!
Here is another good article Bonhoeffer’s “theory of stupidity”: We have more to fear from stupid people than evil ones
(source: Google searches and cross referencing sources)
