The Id in Idiot
I hate when people confuse education with intelligence. You can have a bachelor's degree and still be an idiot.” – Elon Musk
I have always despised this quote and for more than one reason. First, and with all due respect (not much) Elon seems to be confusing intelligence with the right to cop an arrogant, insensitive, and from what I have read of his exploits, far from unearned right to insult persons who have shown the ability to finish what they start, and for the most part are doing the best that they can, even if they are not the Mr. Space Cadet X, from all available information he would appear to be.
Not that I wish to single out Elon for disparate treatment, there are oh so many personss out there who believe merely making money is a sign of intelligence, but alas, it is not and in truth he reminds me of Wile E. Coyote handing out his business card, claiming the title of “Super Genius” before crashing another rocket into another wall or driving I guess an electric car off a cliff in yet the latest of a failed attempt to catch the poor little roadrunner, who BTW, never bothers anyone, and just running down the road's his idea of having fun.
My point being Elon symbolizes what I perceive to be a major stumbling block to getting things done in Congress at a time where we need them to do their job, with or without the benefit of a high IQ, and without concern for their often large and undeserved egos, or catering to nothing more than blind self-interest. You must admit, the similarities of what at this point are essentially two cartoon characters are uncanny, aren’t they? But surely, not surprising.
Now don’t get me wrong, Elon is more than welcome to do whatever the heck it is he does, but to drag his personal wrongheadedness, ego, self-interest and greed into the Covid-19 discussion, claiming some “right” to ignore the health and welfare of our nation so he can play with his Lego for adults set but for the most part useless to society because if you think about it, when it comes to trains, planes, electric automobiles and now rocket ships, Elon who in addition to not originating, much less inventing any of these modes of transportation, his focus always seems to be a sort of high end sleight-of-hand, maybe they work, maybe they don’t, luxury toys for the rich and famous while giving the backhand and little value to or respect for the poor.
For Elon, and about half of both the US Senate and House Representatives, do not seem to show any signs of a trait most valuable in making decisions for the future of our livelihoods, our economy and our future. The missing piece? Wisdom. And here’s an opening throw-down quote from me:
“I hate it when jerk-wads mistake intelligence for wisdom. You can be a high school dropout dismissive of persons with bachelor’s degrees who take the time and put in the effort to educate themselves and still be an idiot.” – Philip Drucker
Elon also reminds me of another Silicon Zirconium Valley “all-star” Mark Zuckerberg both entrepreneurs who are not in my mind all that innovative, much less the Edison level inventors or visionaries they both fancy themselves to be.
Indeed, Marky Z. has also earned the distinction of uttering as if it meant something yet another of my least favorite quotes of all time.
“Move fast and break things.” – Mark Zuckerberg
Firstly, what kind of moron equates business acumen and innovation with breaking things? I guess we should at least feel lucky he’s not building space ships, but that’s about all the credit I can give him for the moment. FTR, when I first saw the quote, I wondered how exactly does one “break” a social media platform? I guess he showed me, or rather us, eh? Thanks, Zuck.
I call it trickle down technology and yes, I hate that too. With that said I do admit Elon is nowhere near as bad as Zuck, who didn’t invent social media, didn’t even invent the platform (MySpace.com), stole the name of his “creation” from the Harvard Facebook and clearly, failed to “unite the world” as he has often claimed. Indeed, after the 2016 and 2020 election cycles, a good case could be made Mark with the haughty, grotty and ridiculous “Roman Patrician” think Julius Caesar haircut may have in fact accomplished the exact opposite. Why? Because no matter how intelligent he may or may not be, he fell prey to the temptations of wealth and fleeting fame, something no wise man would ever do.
My point being are we as voters done yet with the chimera of turning America into a for-profit enterprise and putting a “businessman” in the presidency? I thought we had all learned our lesson with Mitt’s 47% makers (mostly corrupt “leaders of industry” at one time or another) and takers (good people who worked all their lives and were now on social security or pensions they earned), but no, and for that we got Trump (see what happens to people who are not wise)?
Yet, even still, we have idiots like Andrew Yang who thinks everyone wants to be like him, a product of what I call the Silicon Bubble of superiority, again basing their justifications for privilege on their ability to sell stuff to people they don’t need. Have you ever read any of his books?
Must be nice to start your day in SF, zoom off in a private jet to have a cup of coffee in Brazil, and then end your day talking to a friend about the horrible state of our union in wherever the hell it is you are now, and then, do nothing, or at least nothing that I am aware of, to change the playing field, lower taxes for billionaires and the like and suggesting everyone get $12,000 a year to stimulate the economy, which it would, but unfortunately it will also create a loop of interdependence between the people and their government with no end in sight, but of course that would be a bit too much forward thinking on his part. And not to leave Mr. Yang out of the sure, but have you considered the effect you have on others quote,
“Mistakes are acceptable if they're the result of moving forward.” -Andrew Yang
And who would be that’s moving forward? Why Mr. Yang and how does he know? Why, there are yet more numbers in his bank account. I wonder if he even pays Federal Income Tax. It’s just all about the money for these guys, and I guess no one wants to disturb their ignorant and harmful bliss.
If you are getting my drift (hard to miss, right?), our modern-day entrepreneurs seem intent to prove their business acumen and worth to society by putting imaginary numbers with lots of zeros in their bank accounts and sadly, in my opinion without any real empathy or second thoughts to giving back to the community outside the bubble except by doing more of the same that is in the long run not of any direct benefit that I can glean to the society that made them so. Our bad, but they are worse.
Ouch I know, but all these guys are plainly out of touch with 99% most of America. And, in case you hadn’t noticed, makes them part of the 1% although they don’t want you to know that, because then they are not cool. Joe cool or not, let’s keep in mind one wants to be president, one likes lying to Congress, and one, best as I can reckon, wants to be both Buzz Lightyear and Woody at the same time. Are these the kind of persons you would want in politics? I leave the choice to you. Three wise kings or three blind mice? I think you know where I stand. But then again, you usually do.
Like My Blog? Buy Mea Culpa Coffee? druckerreport.com/donate
Comentários