You know the phrase. “Stupid is as stupid does.” That means even seemingly smart people can believe and do stupid things.

By a factor of 8 to 1 the United States of America is leading the European Union in the number of new cases of Coronavirus. The EU has 445M people and the US only 330M, yet we’re kicking their ass when it comes to spreading a virus that is spread through airborne droplets. For these reasons, health officials recommend that people engage in simple practices such as social distancing, wearing masks, washing their hands and staying away from crowded places like bars, beaches and political rallies.

Stupid by example

But some people are too stubborn and stupid to abide in those simple recommendations. They’re even stupid enough to conflate them as infringements on their personal liberties. And for their example, the can cite none other than the President of the United States, who aggressively refuses to wear a mask in public.

Upward spiral of death

As a result, cases of Coronavirus infections are soaring in multiple states. Deaths are following the upward curve as well. Much of this rise is due to serial stupidity on the part of Americans refusing to abide by the most basic precautions. Many are politicizing the wearing of masks as a government mandate.

Despite the surge in infections, Vice President Mike Pence insisted in late June 2020 that things are looking great and that the virus is abating. Yet even the Governor of Texas admitted that he’d done a stupid thing by allowing people to crowd into bars and other compromising situations.

The Real Problem

But that’s the real problem. A massive number of Americans is unwilling to compromise to protect their own health, or the health of others. So I’ll say it right here, loud and clear. These people are stupid.

Being stupid is traditionally defined as “having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense.” In the case of people whining about wearing masks, they’re the stupidest people of all.

Two kinds of stupid

As we surmise from the definition above, there are two kinds of stupid. There is lack of intelligence, and there is lack of common sense. That’s what “stupid is as stupid does” means. If you let your brain succumb to stupid advice, that makes you stupid. If you’re too dumb to know common sense when you see it, that’s unfortunate, and sometimes tragic.

Stupid and proud of it

At this point, America is overrun by people exhibiting both kinds of this stupidity. Some display their stupidity in claiming that their man Trump has done a “good job so far” on the pandemic. But the EU and the rest of the world figured out how to do far better than the US when it comes to keeping their populations safe. Only the US is stupid enough to continue down a path of stupid behavior and even stupider political support for a massive failure in leadership. People are being stupid and proud of it.

Forrest Gump versus Donald Trump

If we were to compare the relative decision-making capabilities of Forrest Gump with Donald Trump, whose advice would you most likely be inclined to take? The simple man whose love of common sense made him wealthy and loved? Or the conflicted man whose love of himself bankrupted his own company multiple times, led to a $25M fraud against his own University, got impeached for pursuing illegal political gain and denied the threat of a pandemic and continues to pretend it doesn’t exist?

Let’s put it bluntly. Based on everything we know about the corrupt and fatal actions of Donald Trump, anyone who supports the man has to be stupid. That might be a question of basic intellect, or just as likely a case of willful stupidity. Either way, it’s a tragedy for America.