Why there's no excuse for stupidy in 2018

I've gone through a vast reeducation, learning about everything from jazz music history, to philosophy, to ethics, politics, journalism, propaganda, and government. My friends aren't interested in any of that stuff and they don't want to hear about it. I have a friend who is even against reading in and of itself. The rise of anti-intellectualism has been timed perfectly with the rise of Trump. With anti-intellectualism comes racism, and prejudice, like the neo-Nazi rally last year in Charlottesville where one person died to to a neo-Nazi driving a car into the crowd. However, in today's modern technological golden age, there's no excuse to be stupid, uninformed, or uneducated. You don't have to go to college to be an intellectual. But it sure helps to go to school and come from a rich, educated family.

First of all, because the internet is pretty cheap (or free if you go to the library or a coffee shop), that means that everybody has constant access to free information. This free information is indispensable right now. I wouldn't be able to order the books I want to read without being able to look titles up through the library's servers. I wouldn't know whats going on in government if it weren't for the news websites. Its a given that you can learn a lot because of the free information on the net. Use it or lose it. Don't use it just for Instagram and Twitter. The modern thinker uses the internet to strengthen his wits and to engage discourse in ideas, art, and culture. Most of the music I listen to is on YouTube for free. That is how I know so much about music, by listening to it online for free.

Next, the archaic media known as books. Reading wasn't something I was attracted to for nearly twenty years. I did two years at the University of Wisconsin system and the entire time I was there I dreaded reading and preferred to play guitar in the guitar club and hang out with my buddies in the computer science club. It wasn't until the ripe age of twenty that I began my reading career. Technically I'm behind my peers, some of whom already have Bachelors, Masters, and even PhD's. When my dad was my age he had already read most of the best that science fiction had to offer whereas I'm still somewhere in the beginning of it.

Reading isn't something you can force yourself to do. You have to learn to enjoy it, to enjoy the process of prose, and gain intellectual understanding of the text, as well as empathy within the narrative. Its a powerful force. Literature may be more important to mankind than music, and I love music dearly! To finish on this subject there's no excuse to be stupid because books are free and you can learn about nearly anything and everything, provided you have a library card and dedicate the time to improving your mind. You might find that you have a greater appreciation from the world after you've read a lot. I've found that my thinking has become more linear, concise, and forward. It also helped me to become a better writer, something I strive for, especially because I have aspirations of becoming a writer.

Lastly, your peers, friends, co-workers, bosses, and even customers at your work affect you in some ways. Sometimes they can change you for the better, to become smarter by giving you advice, sometimes even when you didn't think you would need it. This guitar player customer taught me a lot about jazz guitar comping when he told me I should play the chords with the pick and fingers rather than just using the pick all the time. Such a simple thing but I never figured that out on my own in my ten years of playing the guitar. Its not rocket science but its helped me a lot.

The more people you know the more advice you'll get. Most of this you can take it or leave it. However, I find that when I look into things that people tell me to do or look up I find myself enriched by that said thing, even if its something small like,"you should write everyday", "look up this political writer", "listen to this classical composer", etc, etc. The list is endless. At the end of the day something your peers or customers tell you isn't going to change your world but it may help you somehow.

These are the reasons why there's no excuse to be stupid in 2018. Maybe instead of lurking on Facebook or Instagram or playing video games you should finally crack open that novel that you bought but haven't started yet. Your mind will thank you later.