Bumper sticker on the back windshield of a car: I HATE STUPID PEOPLE. Ouch.
In the nonfiction I’ve started (See: Beyond Stress Management, Defining a Self with a Smile), I’ve asked fellow travelers to sign the following pledge.
I,_____________, am as nuts as everyone else on the planet. As a start on freedom. To get out from under the burden of a life spent trying to convince ourselves and others that we aren’t.
Is this asking too much? Maybe. My special person read the pledge and said, “Whoa! Lots of people are going to balk at admitting that.” “That’s just the point,” I say, “the whole point of the book is to quit taking ourselves so seriously all the time.” He said, ”Maybe that’s what you’re thinking, but I think you will find out most people would rather believe in their superiority.”
“But defending our superiority, defending the idea that we are the only ones who know how to do things right, takes so much time and energy. We have to be on guard all the time, fending off evidence, arguing, and uselessly trying to convince other people that we are ‘right’ and they are ‘wrong’. I’m not saying each of us doesn’t have a point of view. I’m not talking about religious beliefs or political leanings or decisions on how to raise children…I’m talking about the time wasted on issues that don’t matter, time wasted being anxious…whether you should pre-soak stains, avoid sugar, avoid television, drive in the right lane, private school over public school, seek plastic surgery… I’m talking about letting go of ‘being right’ as a way of life.”
Still, my special person said, “I don’t think your pledge is going to fly.” Which of course threw me instantly into trying to convince I was right and he was wrong about pledges and how they fly.
And I held my ground that most people would enjoy the relief of admitting equal nuttiness with our co-inhabitants…I held it until I saw the “I HATE STUPID PEOPLE” sticker. For sure the owner of the sticker finds stupid people all over the place. People who spend money, treat their pets, choose professions, choose sports teams, choose books…stupidly. I wouldn’t want to be married to someone who was ”sensitized” to ”stupid” people, since I’m sure I would fulfill his expectations on a regular basis. I wouldn’t want to be in his family. Egad, what if your boss was a “I hate stupid people” fan?
Maybe “I..H..S..P” guy wouldn’t sign a pledge, maybe IHSPeople guy would say only stupid people would sign such a pledge. But that’s okay. I won’t even argue about his choice. Who has time and energy for that struggle?
