Let Them Be Stupid

I have always tried to teach my children that it is okay for people to be wrong as long as they are not heading toward hurting themselves or others.  There is no winning an argument with someone who really believes.  I am the one who is having trouble lately with allowing others to hold their own views of even the simplest things in life.

I was told, just this morning, that, "my cough is mostly caused by my feet being too hot.  I don't need medicine or to see a doctor.  I just need to get these shoes off for a while and I'll be fine."

Do you know how hard it was for me not to explode?  It took everything I had to allow this insanity, but I learned a long time ago that everyone holds certain beliefs that they will not let go of no matter what arguments are used against them.  There is no logic that can be used, no proof provided, and no intervention performed that can change their minds.  If you bring it strong enough you may get such a person to tell you that they didn't know better or that you're right, but they will hold tight in their core that they are still right and must appease you for your stupidity.  A lot of effort just got wasted by both of you, one fighting to eliminate stupidity and the other defending it.

There is a "worse fate" that can also occur when you argue with someone about their idiocy.  The possibility exists, and I can attest from experience, that the craziness is true!  Just one example of this happened last Halloween.  I have always had a pet dog.  I have always put the kids candy in a Ziploc bag and hidden it (overdose prevention).  I have always believed that dogs can't sniff out something in a sealed bag.  Last year I was proven wrong when, after arguing with my brother that "dogs can't find that candy, it's in a Ziploc."

He told me, "You need to put the candy up high or my dog will find it and eat it."

"Poppycock", was my thought and I told him that I would hide the candy " up high".

I put the candy, in its secured Ziploc, under my shoe shelf.

There is a complete, soul shaking, life altering paradigm shift when you're cleaning up dog puke because you were wrong.