Dumbotrons

I wonder what today’s article is going to be about? Is it about a news story? How about another book or movie review? Maybe it’s something that you’ve never really thought out loud about but have only thought about inside. It could be a thought that has never even entered your mind. What could it be? Well, this may be the day I have to turn in my membership card to the highly exclusive boys club because I’m going to let out a little secret. Boys are dumb. I’m not saying that only from an observatory standpoint, I’m saying that from experience both of my own and from people I know. What, did you think you were going to hear some provocative new insight into how the human mind works? I know, it’s not earth shattering news or a life changing concept, but it does have quite a bit of talk value.

Given that I am a boy, I have quite a bit of experience with today’s topic. I can admit to you that I once was a very dumb boy, and at times, I still am. I believe this is another one of those human nature things. Women are born nurturers, caregivers, and emotional beings. Men are born hunters, warriors, and dumb. There are many reasons for this but I’m just going to boil it down to a few here. Let’s see how this article comes out in the end as I have no blueprint for this article other than a few bits and pieces that hopefully will lead to some additional cognitive thought. Now, I’m not saying boys are dumb as in the ability to learn or solve problems in any way whatsoever. I’m talking about the decision making process that all boys have built within them from birth.

There are certain switches within our minds that act as hurdles in decision making. For boys, these hurdles do not represent much of an issue for a very long while and sometimes never pose a problem depending on the situation. The switches I’m talking about are the defense mechanisms most people have when facing a potentially hazardous situation. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. It’s the “should I” or “shouldn’t I” process that you work through in your mind when faced with a possibility of injury from a particular action. Should I jump out of that plane? Should I volunteer for the military? Should I climb that tree? Should I play BB tag? Should I ride skateboards? Should I jump from the cliff into the water? Each of these questions and millions more are faced by boys throughout their life. Being dumb, a lot of us answer yes to them and some of us pay dearly from the consequences of our actions.

I’m not saying women don’t have similar questions arise during their lifetime, but boys have the market cornered for the most part. There is a reason for this and it all comes down to the human nature thing again. Boys, due to our human nature of being hunters and warriors, are required to be dumb. If we did not have the ability to bypass certain “switches” in our brain, we would not be capable of doing certain things that are required of the male in our society. We would not be able to protect our family without the ability to bypass these roadblocks. We would not be willing to give our life to protect our country. We would not be willing to risk life and limb to help someone in need. Rational thought would inhibit our natural instinct. If we lost our ability to be dumb, the precious time wasted in rationalizing certain situations could lead to more people being hurt. This “ability” is a valuable part of our male human nature.

Not everything we do because of this ability is good however. Being boys, we sometimes use this trait for alternative reasons. One would be fear. How does that fit into this equation? Why would we fear someone who’s dumb? It goes like this. The boy decides that his peer group needs to know just how far he will go in any circumstance. He will agree to do anything no matter how harmful it could be personally. But, it serves a purpose. It makes his peer group fear him in a way that makes him feel good about himself. It’s a pretty twisted way of gaining acceptance, but I’ve seen it and I’m sure you can name a few examples also. Another use of this trait involves the pursuit of respect from other people. Boys will utilize this “dumb trait” to do things they believe will garner the respect of their peers. Respect will also lead to believed acceptance within the group.

So, the next time you see a boy or man in your life doing something you perceive as “dumb,” remember, it’s in our blood. It’s our human nature. But, if it’s something being done for the reasons of fear or respect, then say something. A little advice has never hurt anyone. Boys need to learn when to use the dumb ability. Our society today seems to promote utilization of this trait at any time. There are multiple shows on television of “boys being boys,” movies of them, and various videos online showing just how far some boys will go to obtain acceptance through fear and respect. These boys are affecting the younger males of our generation because they are not shown the correct way to utilize their “gift.” Yes, I believe it is a gift for our male population. We do need to focus on controlling it though. Rewarding the wrong outcomes creates a much different society. Rather than hunters and warriors, we are raising crazy daredevils. Money changes a lot of things. Rewarding such behavior only validates its use.

If you are a boy or a man reading this, I’m sure you can throw in some comments below of your “dumb” instances in life. Just remember, being dumb is within our human nature, but using our nature in a way to obtain acceptance diminishes its worth and in turn, our worth. Acceptance through fear and perceived respect is not earned. Both are trivial and disappear in an instance. Earning acceptance by being a real man in our society is both deserved and long lasting. So I’ll close with this. Be dumb and be who we were born to be, but don’t be stupid.