Trivia...

Greetings good citizen, yet another '*man in the street' interview video is making the rounds on Facebook and again we are only shown the subjects that are A.) Stupid or B.) playing the man with the microphone.

Leno was famous for his hilarious 'man in the street' interviews so this is nothing new. Leno 'cherry picked' the contents of his video's as well meaning only the most clueless won the spotlight for our collective entertainment.

But the video making the rounds doesn't make that distinction...but to be fair, neither did Leno.

If all you see is this video it LOOKS LIKE we're a nation of clueless losers.

Now I want you to ponder just how much truth is in that statement?

This line of argument is unreasonable, we aren't a collection of encyclopedias (although I KNOW I just made some of you conduct a rather frantic internet search because thanks to the net, encyclopedias are 'obsolete'.)

So watching people 'draw a blank' while being quizzed about 'trivia' is a rather savage form of amusement, a form that highlights our personal level of 'stupid'.

If knowing the answer while watching someone else struggle with their inner doubt and MORTAL TERROR OF MAKING AN IDIOT OF THEMSELVES IN ON CAMERA triggers your inner sense of 'superiority' [and if you look at some of the comments this video is drawing, I will once again intone that we are NECK DEEP IN STUPID around 'here'...meaning the U.S. of A.]

Sunday is a slow traffic day so I'm going to keep this brief.

Our ability to laugh at ourselves is considered one of our strengths and I belabor the obvious when I point out what most of us 'don't know' could fill some mighty thick books, so vast is the body of 'minutia', much of it obscured by antiquity.

While this video is, er, 'telling' I asked some college students what system this nation operates under and none of them, not one, spit out 'capitalism'...meaning every one of these people who had already completed their State-mandated 'compulsory education' [and SUCCESSFULLY gained admission to college] knew what a capitalist was or could discuss the subject intelligently.

What does ten years of compulsory education do for our children? [Again, the quiz continues, we all attend school for twelve years but only ten are 'compulsory'!]

While research indicates that different people learn in different ways, our, er, 'peasant forebearers' did just fine learning by 'rote' [repetition.]

Something the media has picked up on, 'repeat until true'.

So the likelihood here is what you're witnessing is someone being tongue-tied by fear rather than stupidity. They are fearful they'll mispronounce some famous dead person's name and look like the fool they fear they are.

Funny thing cameras...people hate them almost as much as they despise the truth (especially when it disagrees with what they've been taught is 'true'.) [You failed because you didn't try 'hard enough', the mother of all lies!]

While it is difficult to test one's level of 'cognizance', videos like this provide a good 'benchmark', guaging your own reaction will tell you just how 'sharp' you really are.

So, tell me. Were you 'disgusted' by these people who couldn't remember/answer basic facts surrounding our nations birth? (Or were you smirking, the whole time knowing you were watching a heavily edited video made to entertain you by showing you how STAGE FRIGHT makes SOME PEOPLE look dumb?)

Doesn't matter how you answer, it is a quiz intended to tell you about YOURSELF. Think hard about what you found.

Is that a clear spot I see? Wasn't there before...was it?

Thanks for letting me inside your head,

Gegner


(* The video quizzes passerby's on their knowledge of the events surrounding our Independence Day celebration.)

PS: The interviewer doesn't ask any of his subjects the $64,000 question, How many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence also signed the Constitution?

Do YOU know the answer?

Stay tuned, I'll tell you tomorrow.