Perhaps Darwin had it
right. He postulated that everything on earth is evolving and becoming more
adapted and adaptable to living here on earth. We describe this process as the “Survival
of the Fittest.” It is a lovely idea. In many ways, it makes sense. It just
doesn’t seem to be happening. If Darwin is correct, we have been involved in
this process for a very long time and we don’t seem to be making much progress.
As I look around it seems to me that dumb pretty much still abounds. I am
sensing that we won’t run short of dumb in the near future.
I love the yearly
Darwin Awards. This is a web site dedicated to documenting the natural culling
of our species as the dumbest of us opt out of the gene pool by doing things
that end their tenure here on earth. As it says on the site: “The Darwin Awards
salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally
remove themselves from it...Natural selection deems that some
individuals serve as a warning to others. Who are we to
disagree? The next generation, ever and anon, is descended from the
survivors.”
To get a taste for
the Darwin Awards, take a look at a winner:
DARWIN AWARD WINNER
OF THE CENTURY! Angry Wheelchair Man, the rashly rushing rammer who epitomizes
the downfall of the human race. (25 August 2010, Daejon, South Korea) An angry
handicapped man, annoyed that an elevator departed without him, thinks it over
before ramming his wheelchair into the doors (bam!) once, twice, three times in
all. Success and failure combined as he gained access to the elevator, and
plunged down the rabbit hole to his death. This 40-year-old man earns
immortality as an irritated Darwin Award winner. Video is available – really. http://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2010-08.html
I know we spend a lot
of time, money, energy and resources to guard against stupid people doing
damage to themselves and others around them. I just think you can’t legislate
smart. (I realize that many people are reading this and thinking, “It’s not
nice to call someone stupid. Stupid is a bad word.” I disagree. Stupid is a
wonderfully useful, descriptive word. Stupid is a bad thing. But calling it
something else will not make it any less stupid. How about we have the courage
to call a spade a spade. As Forrest Gump famously said, “Stupid is as stupid
does.”) Last week my wife and I went to Walgreens™ and attempted to purchase
some decongestants to combat allergies. Because some group had attempted to
legislate against the stupid people who use these drugs to cook meth, we had to
go to the pharmacy to purchase an over the counter product. Upon our arrival
there we were told we could only purchase one package per month. We are
suffering because our lawmakers are trying to legislate against stupid. My guess
is this new law was in place less than a week before the meth makers figured
out a way around it. They are pretty smart for stupid people.
Because of my work in
church consultations, I make it a habit to read church constitutions and
bylaws. Often these documents are filled with examples of churches setting
rules against stupid. Instead of addressing a problem situation or a problem
person head on at the moment it comes up, churches tend to do the passive/aggressive
thing of not saying anything at the moment to solve the problem but, instead,
write a new “law” into the bylaws. If the church has much age and history, its
bylaws can be quite long and convoluted.
As a church
consultant I must consider the answer to this question. What are the chances
that the Church in North America will soon be nominated for a Darwin Award? I
am sorry to say, pretty good.
Copyright © 2013,
William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved
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