Don't Get Stuck On Stupid

"Don't get stuck on stupid, reporters," is the actual quote by Lt. General Russel Honore, commander of federal troops in New Orleans. But it's certainly applicable to my life.

I get stuck. I know I get stuck on stupid. I get stuck on stupid far more frequently then I get stuck on smart. The only stuck on smart that comes to my mind is getting stuck on sobriety 29 years ago. That's a big stuck on smart, granted, but I've been stuck on stupid so many times since then and at times it's made my sobriety difficult and painful. Or, is that merely being alive is painful?

The thing that's so humiliating about getting stuck on stupid, is that I have the capacity to be smart - all the time. The thing that's so embarrassing about it is that I never feel more right then when I'm stuck on stupid.

Being stuck on stupid is not something exclusive to individuals. Nations have also been stuck on stupid. The USSR comes to mind. Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge, and the Gang of Four come to mind. LBJ and Nixon come to mind. South Africa and apartheid come to mind. Hitler, Idi Amin, Mao Tse Tung. All stuck on stupid.

The thing that ties world leaders, nations, and everyday individuals together when stuck on stupid is the pain being stuck on stupid causes. We know the aftermath of apartheid, nazism, communist China, Soviet communism, Ugandan genocide, etc. What's not always evident is the person to person hurt from being stuck on stupid. The small stucks that hurt someone's feelings because you can't forgive or forget a time when they acted differently. The small stucks that close doors between people when they are most needed to be open. The small stucks that create and perpetuate fissures between family members. The small stucks that cause you to stub your toe on the same table leg over and over again.

Time to move on to my day, and not get stuck on this thought.