Lately I have been hearing much about how terrible the blogosphere has become. Why should anyone expect anything different? Consider.
A fool finds no pleasure in understanding
but delights in airing his own opinions.
Do we have a shortage of fools? Of course not. Fortunately, so long as we can laugh ourselves, that is not a serious problem.
We begin life in tears. Laughter comes with the transformation of our wails of sorrow into joy. At birth, we learn that very little depends upon us. We are loved just for being who we are. Love does not need a reason, and we laugh for no reason at all. Unfortunately, this is a lesson we too quickly forget as age and and responsibility steal a childhood joy. But there is a path to recovery.
Recovery begins with the understanding that people are idiots. So begins the central thesis of The Dilbert Principle. People are idiots. We are all idiots, and we each spend much of our time being idiots. Dwell upon and immerse yourself in that realization and you will be free to laugh again. There is, after all, no reason to take ourselves or any other human being too seriously.
Here is how Scott Adams describes the idiot condition.
Idiocy in the modern age isn’t an all-encompassing twenty-four hour situation for most people. It’s a condition that everyone slips into many times a day. Life is just too complicated to be smart all the time. (from pg 3 of The Dilbert Principle)
In fact, the promotion of idiots is the foundation of America’s business success.
It seems we have turned nature’s rules upside down. We systematically identify and promote the people who have the least skills. The usual business rationalization for promoting idiots (The Dilbert Principle in a nutshell) is something along the lines of “Well, he can’t write code, he can’t design a network, and he doesn’t have any sales skill. But he has very good hair…” (from pg 14 of The Dilbert Principle)
In America, don’t we promote the biggest idiots just to get them out of the way? Doesn’t their absence allow the marginally competent to get some work done? Why can’t most of us just take consolation in the fact we have not been promoted to anything? Can you imagine being the President of the United States?
Fortunately, there is One who is wise, and in spite of our idiocy, He loves us.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
“so that no one can boast.” Of all sins, Pride is the greatest. That is why our most joyful moments come to us when we laugh at ourselves and depend upon Him.
Psalm 126:2-3
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
Blog joyfully and humbly, and have a Happy New Year!
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
