6 reasons to believe that we live in the age of stupidity

In 2009, documentary filmmaker Franny Armstrong introduced the world to one of the most controversial nonfiction works on the environmental crisis of the early 21st century: The Age of Stupid.

Unlike other previously released documentaries on similar themes, The Age of Stupidity was one of the few that hit the nail on the head, pointing out that being human being is not only responsible for one of the biggest global problems facing the entire biodiversity of the planet, but that also speaks about the rationality of it and intelligence. That humanity is the causal agent of the catastrophe, but also a kind of gigantic child who has no idea what he is playing at.

But the reasons presented by this work they are not the only ones with the power to lead us to think that we live in the era of stupidity. Throughout the Earth we have shown ourselves incapable of managing all kinds of problems that affect everyone and that we don't even care enough to coordinate efforts to manage them.

• Related article: "Are we rational or emotional beings?"

Signs that we live in the age of stupidity

This is a compilation of crises and collective problems that either do not concern us or we simply try to combat in an irresponsible way, with a mixture of vanity, laziness and individualistic mentality.

What all of them have in common is that they are the result of a lack of willingness to cooperate, leave their comfort zone and use rationality for something other than constantly greasing the machine of consumerism: producing and buy. Since the Internet and the new information storage technologies have existed, we have had plenty of time to detect these problems and take action on the matter, but today, for some reason, we do not seem to be in favor of work.

1. We are destroying the planet

It is the reason with which we have started the article, as well as one of the most serious, so it could not be missing from this list. The environment is basically the most important thing we have, since variations in it can wipe out entire populations in a matter of minutes. However, we continue to act as if recycling by separating waste is the pinnacle of responsibility and civility, something reserved for the kindest and most disciplined citizens.

The reality is that although individual actions count, those efforts based on the "willpower" of each individual are useless.

Everything indicates that in order to stop the devastation of the planet, collective commitments, drastic changes in the economy and in the production model are necessary, and even intelligent management of the way in which we group together to live in cities. None of this is even raised, justifying it with individual freedoms and the expectations of continuing to have a life full of technological comforts.

2. infant mortality

Much is said about how life gives us the opportunity to choose our path, how everything we obtain depends mainly on our decisions and attitudes.

However, we don't seem very concerned with making the world we live in conform to that vision of reality, because we overlook systematic way that, for that to be true (even if only in appearance), we should avoid as much as possible at least that there is regions where 100 out of 1,000 babies do not reach their first year of life, just as it is today. We have the money to do it but, unfortunately, we use it to buy products made with the exploited labor of those areas.

• You may be interested in: "Poverty affects children's brain development"

3. conspiracy theories

On December 14, 2012, a 20-year-old man appeared at an elementary school in the American town of Sandy Cook and shot dead 27 people before finishing committing suicide It is one of the bloodiest massacres in the history of the United States of America, but for many people, such events simply did not exist.

And there is a relatively popular theory according to which what happened at school that day was in reality a montage created by the Obama administration to justify policies that limit the possession of weapons. To this day, in fact, several fathers and mothers of children who died in the massacre are harassed and threatened by deniers furious about the “crocodile tears” that according to them are shed by these victims.

This example expresses in a few words everything that is wrong with the existence of conspiracy theories and why they are a symptom of the age of stupidity.

In order to defend a vision of the world that fits with one's own ideals, one is capable of creating even the most convoluted explanations, those that do not can be put in doubt by the available evidence, attributing everything to a supposed conspiracy, to make reality adapt to what one think. Even if this means directly harming many other people.

4. The exploitation of women

Even today, centuries after we began to defend the theory of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, we continue to allow half the population to be confined to the domestic sphere, being penalized for acting with the same freedoms as men.

Even in those countries where formally both sexes have the same rights, it is still normal to compliment unknown women on the street, harass them in leisure contexts night, expect them to work in the office and take care of all the housework at the same time, and less attention is paid to them at work (even if they hold a managerial position). leadership).

It has never been so clear that there is a problem that goes beyond the laws, but even knowing it it is very frequent that this debate is avoided with the excuse of focusing first on "those places where women are worse", that is, those who live in other countries. Something that is not done with any other treatable problem from politics.

• Related article: "Micromachismos: 4 subtle signs of everyday machismo"

5. religious fanaticism

Today there are no excuses for trying to impose certain religious doctrines on others. However, the tools that in a globalized world like ours should connect us and make let's collaborate more and better, they are used massively to try to expand religious faith over freedom of others.

From hate speech and calls for violence to political pressure to avoid being educated from scientific knowledge that contradicts the dogmas, going through threats that are posted on the Internet for all to see and viral videos of content clearly homophobic, bigotry has proven to be another reason we live in the age of stupidity. Neither scientific nor technological advances are enough by themselves to eradicate it.

• You may be interested in: "How a brain injury can cause religious fanaticism"

6. nationalism

Today we know that historical identities, those that try to make us confuse our own identity individual with what our supposed ancestors did centuries or millennia ago, it simply does not have sense. Obviously, there is no rational reason why what generations before us did should mark some very specific action guidelines that we must follow so as not to betray our roots.

On the other hand, we also know that identity politics always leads to situations in which violence and authoritarianism are imposed, since it justifies certain political measures under the pretext of doing "what is natural" for a people or race, almost always creating artificial borders in communities that previously lived together.

However, nationalism has the power to seduce us over and over again, when it reaches a point where we forget its harmful effects. Today, a good part of the inhabitants of many regions of the world refuse to share economic and political spaces with other people for reasons of identity, while others try to conscientiously eliminate any trace of cultural differences of ethnic minorities so that their own cultures are imposed in a hegemonic way.

The age of stupidity is also shown in our inability to learn from mistakes. The national withdrawal, associated with conservative and far-right parties, is seen as something normal, which does not even have to be questioned when a people is threatened by abroad... without stopping to think that this definition of "people" is totally arbitrary and presupposes the existence of the nation as that which must be defended above the people.