"In America, You have the Right to be Stupid"; said JF Kerry

Out of all the good things to say about America, our top diplomat found it most relevant to comment on our right to be stupid before an audience of German students. This is all the more inappropriate on his part that in German the word stupid means dumm, and the later came to the US with the early German immigrants and influenced the meaning of the English word dumb. So in todays America, dumb and stupid are one and the same.

Maybe Kerry did not have much to brag about vis-a-vis the Germans: life expectancy (Germany ranks 13th, USA ranks 17th among wealthy nations); Poverty (Germany’s rate is 13.5%; USA is 27.5%); Infant mortality (Germany ranks 12th, USA ranks 34th), and so on and so forth.

Most importantly, even if Germany and USA have the same ranking of 26th for 99% literacy (ability to read and write after age 15), the true illiteracy rate in the US hovers around 21% as per a U.S. government study that was released in April 2002 and reapplied in 2003. It involved interviewing over 90,700 adults statistically balanced for age, gender, ethnicity, education level, and location (urban, suburban, or rural) in 12 states across the U.S. This study showed that 21% to 23% of adult Americans were not "able to locate information in text", could not "make low-level inferences using printed materials", and were unable to "integrate easily identifiable pieces of information." Higher immigrant populations have the lowest English literacy rates, which are probably even worse amongst illegal immigrants. The study shows correlation between illiteracy and poverty.

Dumband Dumber is a 1994 American buddy comedy film starring Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels 

“Americans have the right to be stupid” could be stretched to mean “Americans have the right to be uneducated”, so why are we spending all this money on education? Why the high property taxes? Not that any of that money seems to make a difference, but how is shouting our “right to be stupid” over the German roof tops or anywhere else for that matter, fit in this problematic equation.

Some would argue that if we have the right to be stupid, education must be optional and not mandated by the constitution. Furthermore we then should have the right to be unhealthy and here goes the premise of Obamacare: a citizen’s individual health impacts costs and bottom line for all of us. The same premise exists for stupidity and lack of education. It does impact all of us. It makes us less productive, less competitive, thus less GDP. Being stupid and uneducated makes us do irresponsible and irrational things that do impact all of us, such as ignorant voting, increased dependency on society, low work ethics,  coveting the role of victim, gullible to commit a crime.

Maybe John Forbes Kerry could not help himself because the government has been taking us for fools or stupids lately, lying about everything they say: sequestration, rate of attacks in Afghanistan, true unemployment, Benghazi, the fiscal cliff, immigration, you name it.

Masses can be lead like sheep. History has shown repeatedly the stupider they are, the easier to control and the more gullible. Are we developing a taste for the “right to remain stupid” kind of like the “right to remain silent” (Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution) ? Are John Kerry and his pals and MOST IMPORTANTLY THE MEDIA (by selective coverage, ad lib editing, and distorted reporting) surreptitiously encouraging this?

The Dumbing of America maybe Outpacing the Gaying and even the Greying

Despite the rhetoric our leaders seem to be happy with just that. They would love nothing better than a nation of little dumber boys and girls (The Little Drummer Boy) drumming a long in acquiescence to every one of their moves:

Ra Ta Dumb Dumb….Ra Ta Dumb Dumb…