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    The Anti Stupidity Book
    The Anti Stupidity Book
    The Anti Stupidity Book
    Ebook84 pages1 hour

    The Anti Stupidity Book

    By Duane L. Ostler

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    Stupidity. What is it? Is it just something we see our neighbors and members of the opposite political party do? Or is it something more? Why does it seem to be so universal? Are there fundamentals of stupidity that can be recognized?

    These are the questions discussed in this book. It presents six fundamentals of stupidity that lead to the stupid choices that we see all around us. Included among these are the belief that there are no moral values, that God does not exist, and that it is acceptable to become addicted and to treat others badly and be proud. In the end we see that the only sure way to avoid the fundamentals of stupidity is through the saving power of Jesus Christ.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDuane L. Ostler
    Release dateApr 26, 2016
    ISBN9781311314802
    The Anti Stupidity Book
    Author

    Duane L. Ostler

    Duane L. Ostler was raised in Southern Idaho, and has lived in Australia, Mexico, Brazil, China, Utah, the big Island of Hawaii, and—most foreign of all—New Jersey. He practiced law for over 10 years and has a PhD in legal history. He and his wife have five children and two cats.

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      Book preview

      The Anti Stupidity Book - Duane L. Ostler

      THE ANTI STUPIDITY BOOK

      by Duane L. Ostler

      Copyright 2012 Duane L. Ostler

      All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, copied or distributed without the express permission of the author.

      The author was formerly identified in prior versions of this book under pen name "E. Reltso.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      PRELUDE: What's This All About, Anyway?

      CHAPTER 1: Pretend There Are No Moral Values

      CHAPTER 2: Deny The Existence Of God And His Involvement In Your Life

      CHAPTER 3: Treat People As Badly As Possible, Especially Your Family

      CHAPTER 4: Yield Your Life To Addictions As Much As Possible

      CHAPTER 5: Establish Pride, Vanity And Ego As Watchwords To Live By

      CHAPTER 6: Make Sure Things (Like Money) Are More Important Than People

      CHAPTER 7: We All Need Christ's Help To Overcome Stupid Choices

      OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

      PRELUDE

      What’s This all About, Anyway?

      Stupidity is one of the most profound subjects known to modern man. It is never admitted by anyone, but is practiced almost universally. Everyone thinks they don’t have it, but that everyone else does. It is the trademark of politicians, the lifestyle of most modern entertainers, and the literary style of most tabloids. It is the favorite accusation of those possessing it the most, and the constant worry of those possessing it the least. It is one of the best understood concepts of modern times (since almost everyone seems to know how to do it), but almost no one will acknowledge knowing a thing about it. It is the supreme paradox, the ultimate irony. It is the symbol of the modern age.

      What is it about stupidity that makes it such a fascinating subject and the topic of this book? Perhaps it is curiosity to know why there are so many people out there doing it all the time. Or maybe we want to know more about it so we can use our knowledge as ammunition, to accuse our least favorite neighbors. Or perhaps we simply recognize that stupidity is such an unavoidable aspect of life (like TV commercials, traffic jams and paper cuts) that we simply need to know more about it.

      At the outset, it is important for you to know that I am not an expert on this subject. In fact, I know almost nothing about it. Everything I have learned about this subject has been through observing others and not through personal experience. I’m exactly opposite to the dozens of divorced marriage counselors or poverty stricken economists out there. Unlike them, I don’t have personal experience in this subject, and therefore don’t have any idea what I’m talking about. Naturally, this makes me extremely well qualified to write this book.

      You may expect this book to be full of specific examples of stupidity, such as standing in a bathtub while plugging in a frayed, wet extension cord; or taking a sunbath in the passing lane of the freeway. However, in preparing this book, I quickly realized that such examples—instructive as they are—are simply too common. Readers would soon tire of such things, and would still lack an understanding of the fundamentals of stupidity. In order to truly understand the complex nature of stupidity so that you will know how to properly accuse your neighbors, more is needed.

      What follows in this book is a discussion of the deeper aspects of stupidity which often go unnoticed, but which truly provide a foundation to understand this all important topic. These are the roots of stupidity, the very fundamentals on which most stupid choices are based. The precepts of stupidity are often deep and difficult to grasp. It takes hard work to learn about stupidity, just like any other worthwhile task. But the reward that will come to those willing to put forth the effort is beyond anything you can imagine….

      One final note. For ease of reference, the chapter headings and much of the discussion in this book are presented from the point of view of choosing stupidity over nonstupidity. This approach makes it easier to identify stupidity, since we often understand things better if we look at their opposite.

      However, it cannot be overemphasized that if a person’s choices fall within one of the fundamentals of stupidity identified in this book, that does not mean they are a stupid person. Rather, they are a person with an unlimited potential for good that, for whatever reason (and it is rarely our place to judge the reasons), has become caught up in one of the fundamentals of stupidity. Simply put, we must distinguish between the act and the actor, and avoid the temptation to label someone who made a stupid choice as being a stupid person. This is particularly pertinent since all of us, no matter who we are or how hard we try, make stupid choices at times.

      Indeed, one of the great beauties of life is that, with the dawn of each new day, we can choose anew, and break away from the fundamentals of stupidity that may have trapped us in the past. That is really what life is all about—discovery, learning, growth and change, and the forsaking of stupidity. This process is discussed in more detail in Chapter Seven.

      With this understanding in mind, we are now ready to embark on the grand adventure of exploring the deep realms of stupidity …

      CHAPTER ONE

      The First Fundamental of Stupidity:

      Pretend that there are no Moral Values

      The first and most important of all the root fundamentals of stupidity is the sincere belief that moral values do not exist. In other words, there are no ultimate truths, no standards of morality, no values that societies, families or individuals should uphold. If this philosophy is firmly planted in the mind of the aspirant after stupidity, he will obtain a new freedom. No longer will he be enslaved by right or wrong, good and bad, moral or immoral.

      With this philosophy, anything goes. You can do what you want without worrying about a penalty. You can give way to your baser desires without needing to feel guilty. Or to be more specific, you can have sex out of wedlock without any worries, you can take whatever you want whenever you want it regardless of who owns it, you can lie to your heart’s content and take advantage of people where possible.

      Why is choosing to believe that there are no moral values the first fundamental of stupidity? A partial answer for this question can be found by looking at society as a whole. If there are no moral values, then there is no need for laws and governments in society. After all, governments are built on laws, and what are laws anyway but just moral codes created by a bunch of moralistic legislators? The formation of law involves a moral choice between what should be and what shouldn’t, based on concepts of what is right and wrong.

      To be more specific, why should an

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