Bonhoeffer and Public Stupidity
The stupid person is far more dangerous than the malicious one.
The major motion picture Bonhoeffer comes to theaters this week. It’s worth seeing.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (b. 1906 - d. 1945) is one of my modern heroes.
Arrested by the NAZIs as a traitor to the German Reich for attempting to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the NAZIs executed Bonhoeffer was at Flossenburg Concentration camp on Monday, April 9, 1945, less than a month before the end of World War II.
Prior to his execution, writing in in his Letters and Papers from Prison, Bonhoeffer explored the concept of stupidity as a profound societal and moral issue, distinguishing it from mere ignorance or a lack of intelligence.
Bonhoeffer argues that stupidity is not an intellectual defect but a moral failing and a social phenomenon.
Stupidity arises when individuals abandon independent critical thinking in favor of group conformity, often under the influence of power, propaganda, or ideology.
A "stupid" person, in Bonhoeffer's view, is not necessarily unintelligent but has become incapable of recognizing truth or engaging in meaningful dialogue.
Stupidity is more dangerous than maliciousness, Bonhoeffer explains, because while malice can be countered with reason and exposed through its calculated intent, stupidity resists correction.
The stupid person, trapped in their echo chamber of borrowed opinions, becomes impervious to logic or evidence and can even justify harmful actions with a clear conscience.
This makes stupidity a tool for evil to perpetuate itself on a societal scale, as it can weaponize the unwitting complicity of many.
Bonhoeffer’s insight is a warning against the abdication of personal responsibility and the surrender of one’s moral and intellectual faculties, as these conditions enable the most insidious forms of harm to thrive under the guise of ignorance or virtue.
Don’t be a stupid fool.
Think critically. Go see Bonhoeffer.
Love this! Had not read that paper by Bonhoffer. Wow!
Of course, that adds much more meaning to my favorite for dealing with "unwise" people.
Which you should be able to see here: x.com/rixshep/status/1859400409426575850
Wow! Thanks for that insight into "Bonhoeffer", Wade.
(I feel dumb when I am not a lot more educated about such famous heroes of the faith like him. I don't read enough books. My wife and I are certainly going to the movie.)
The dialogue on "stupid" is certainly relevant to the world's condition. This past political campaign season was so telling in regards to the population of this country being "stupid", as defined by Bonhoeffer.
Honestly, I continually assess whether my position is built upon a "trend", or preference for a political party, or its candidates, in spite of there being real evidence to prove my position is built upon propaganda's lies, deceit, and perversion of evidence. I admit having swallowed that "sucker" pill during the "Nixon" years. After being humiliated from the exposure of non-debatable proof of my being misled, I have strived to never allow myself to be duped like that again.
I think it's like the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
If I refuse to learn from my errors in judgment, truly I am among those to be justly considered as being "stupid". Not "stupid" for making a mistake due to pure ignorance. But being "stupid" for the refusal to abandon a position built upon the wicked intent of others to mislead in spite of overwhelming evidence that proves unequivocally that is the case.
Given that there is still almost 50% of the people out there in this country that falls within that definition of "stupid", I would say we continue to have some rocky roads ahead.