Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Over the past few days, Mars has been closer to Earth than it has in thousands upon thousands of years. How could we have been so stupid not to have prepared for this with a manned mission? Mars won't be this close again for thousands of years.
As the months drag on with the U.S.A.'s adventure in Iraq (called by some in the press as the "post-war war") with its rising death toll, how could the leaders of this action not have planned for the security problems at least? How could they have been so stupid?
The French have had an incredibly hot summer, causing thousands of deaths. Many elderly people have been left uncared for by folks who were anxious to get on with their August vacations. How could they have been so stupid?
Thomas' First Law of the Theatre is about stupidity. When I work as an actor, I marvel at the stupidity of the director for failing to recognize my brilliant performance. When I work as a director, I marvel at the stupidity of the actors for not immediately understanding my brilliant notes and transforming my ideas into a brilliant performance. When I work as a stage manager, I marvel at the stupidity of the actors and director for not clearly understanding the play as well as I do.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
We have a curious longing not to be stupid. The American press regularly talks about this or that group of leaders as "the grown-ups" who will (of course) now take care of a problem in a "grown-up" (read "not stupid") way. I think this is because when we were children, grown-ups seemed so much smarter. To a child, a grown-up knows what to do. The grown-ups lecture the child on knowing the right thing to do. The grown-up seems to have a clarity about life that seems denied the child.
As we grow up ourselves, I think we forget that we are, in fact, now the "grown-ups." It has become our jobs to be not stupid. But life doesn't work that way, does it?
Writers have killed many trees with metaphors for life. It's a navigation through angry streams and waters. It is a whirling dance in which a person gets pulled this way and that and must often struggle simply to stay upright. On and on with metaphors. The point is that we don't have the pleasure of having perfect clarity.
Human beings are left with imperfect understanding of situations, other people, and themselves. Our mixtures of pre-conceptions and blind spots, our loves . . . . and our hates, our virtues and our sins - these make us human beings.
Consequently, we be stupid. Sometimes.
How boring theatre would be if every play was about how very good and virtuous people who had clear visions and clear plans for every eventuality and live wonderful lives. I don't want to do that play. I like plays about human beings working to figure out their lives, working to muddle through, striving and aspiring toward a future despite always knowing that a certain death awaits us all.
Yeah, it would be a nice if leaders weren't so stupid. It'd be fantastic if the world woke up to the notion that there are better ways to solve problems than killing someone with whom you disagree. But even if we solved that big problem, human beings would still do stupid things.
People will still get involved in un-wise relationships. People will still say stupid things. People will stupidly forget to say something that would bring kindness to another person. And people will be stupid enough to be selfish, vain, and blind while also being generous, self-effacing, and have lovely singing voices. To be human is to have it all.
And, in the end, I'm stupid enough to like that.
©2003 Nathan Thomas
Nathan Thomas has earned his
living as a touring actor, Artistic Director, director
stage manager, designer, composer, and pianist
He has a Ph.D. in Theatre and is a member of
the theatre faculty of Alvernia College
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