33 Comments
User's avatar
John Shanahan's avatar

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of the most important thinkers, writers, and critics in WWII Germany. He has more integrity and credibility than most key people, the Vatican included. A true Saint.

Wish he were with us today.

Thanks, Joel for this article.

RICH's avatar

Wise words. The real danger is not open evil but the ideas that enough people now treat as settled wisdom and protect from scrutiny. A man can have a baby. The IRGC will negotiate in good faith. Anarchy is America’s only answer. When claims like these are treated as sophisticated rather than questioned, we are living inside the condition Bonhoeffer described.

Bonita Dave's avatar

The stupid person is more dangerous because the evil puppet master can control him. To me, this screamed Joe Biden. To me his letting in 20M unvetted, unanimous illegals into the country and transporting them into purple states such they become blue is perhaps the single most traitorous act ever committed on this country.

Richard Smith's avatar

Joel, Mr. Bonhoeffer sums evil and stupidity its simplest form. Thanks.

Alibaba's avatar

In Romanian, we have another expression: "Never argue with a Stupid person, because his mind is rested! Your's may not be!"

Joel Bowman's avatar

I’m borrowing this one. Thanks for sharing!

Alibaba's avatar

Feel free to do it.

And maybe you want to check my own letter, "Thoughts from the back of my head", too. The little problem, it's mostly chronological, and are over 500 postings.

Believe it or not, you are already mentioned in few of them, especially at the beginning. Enjoy.

Geoff Hollyer's avatar

Just watched the film Nuremberg. A timely reminder of what carnage puppet masters like Herman Goering can cause using useful idiots.

Joel Bowman's avatar

Great movie. Crowe was haunting.

Stephen Hoffman's avatar

yes, it was amazingly accurate in detail. no doubt Bonhoeffer was a martyr.

Judy Crawford's avatar

I love the book "Bonhoeffer"! Have you watched the movie from 2006 called "Idiocracy"? It is a very clear view of where we may be/are headed. It would be funny if it weren't already so true.

Joel Bowman's avatar

I have not watched Idiocracy but a lot of people have recommended it. Sign of the times? I’ll add it to the list. Cheers!

ORION DWORKIN SI/CEBP's avatar

Precisely. Deceive the innocent and enslave/devastate/murder the wise. There is plenty to be said regarding the coward-ness of evil. Remarkable that most of the so-called leaders throughout history. Basically perpetuate that seemingly unbreakable agenda.

Suffrage follows dependency...

...God, bless America - again!?

🙏🏼💯🙏🏻

OD

Gym+Fritz's avatar

Bonhoeffer: pastor, martyr, prophet, spy . . . Eric Metaxas.

Judy Tatum's avatar

Ron White summed it up: “You can’t fix stupid.”

La Plume de Araceli Duque's avatar

« Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Idiots

It is said that debating an idiot is like playing chess with a pigeon. They’ll knock over the pieces, they’ll crap on the board, and they’ll fly back to their flock and claim victory. » 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Alecia Stevens's avatar

Fascinating. And...how does one actually talk about this without seeming arrogant and as if saying, "clearly, I am not one of the stupid ones. I am better than that.". Honestly, I clearly believe there are uneducated people and this looks mostly like stupidity. And maybe they are stupid because they have allowed themselves to stay uneducated. I am just curious how to get around the quality of judgement and arrogance and superiority this engenders. And maybe it is just real and the way it is.

Joel Bowman's avatar

For this reason we are enjoined to show mercy to others... and, whenever possible, to avoid craping on the chess board.

Dale Taylor's avatar

The opiate of Eugenics and the opiate of Marxism shows us intellectuals love to freebase stupid.

BOT's avatar

And the bigger danger is stupid doesn’t know that it is!

Joel Bowman's avatar

Along with Stephen Hawking‘s wry corollary, "The thing about smart people is that they seem like crazy people to dumb people."

Tlasso's avatar

Another problem is that some people do not acknowledge that just plain EVIL exists. Satan is trying to destroy and as we as a people move away from God in society and government(i.e. don't post the Ten Commandments in the Courthouse or public square) we get what we deserve in the end.

Kenny Ellison's avatar

The Bible uses the term “fools” to refer to those we now characterize as stupid. The Book of Proverbs is filled with wisdom regarding how to deal with fools. Rule #1: Don‘t argue with them.