TOO MANY MORONS: A SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD'S DECLARATION OF FED-UP-NESS
by Andrea Peterson
  
It came to me just the other day. The overwhelming realization that our world is chock-full-to-the-brim with idiots. The idiots who think they can get away with changing our constitution to suit themselves; the idiots at the Ritz Hotel who let that guy drive Princess Diana while drunk; the idiots who wanted to give Marcos a hero's burial; the idiots who think that a little digital toy is a threat to children's emotional health; the idiots who wouldn't admit the poor and disabled to Mother Teresa's funeral; the idiots who think that 50 million dollars worth of special effects and cheesy merchandising makes for a good movie; as you see, I could go on and on. It occurs to me that most of the problems in the world today are caused by stupidity. Not to be confused with ignorance; ignorance and stupidity, though related, are not the same thing. In fact, the biggest idiots are those who are supposedly "in the know" and still do stupid things. 

And so, I formed within myself a resolve to combat stupidity on all levels of society; the idiots whom one has to deal with on a day-to-day basis, as well as those who hold our lives and our future in their precarious grip. The first thing that I must do, obviously, is to not become one myself. And to help me fulfill this objective, I chose the Ateneo. 

Why? Number One: a good education is the best way to buffet ignorance, bringing one that much closer to not being stupid. Number Two: because going to the Ateneo will teach me to think for myself and stand on my own two feet. After all, how can one know that something is dumb if one never questions what one is told? Number Three: it would give me a better understanding of people and of the world. I mean, if all that I know is what applies to myself, what good am I? The very worst kind of idiot is a selfish one. 

Once I am a college graduate and an educated-Ateneo-type person, I will be able to fulfill my calling to rid the world of twerps, morons, and boneheads. How exactly I will go about this, I am not certain. I greatly enjoy writing, drawing, and similar aesthetic and creative pursuits. These skills, which I also intend to develop through my schooling, would be instrumental in helping me to raise general awareness. The first step is the essay you have before you. The rest, ladies and gentlemen, is in your hands. 

andrael@skyinet.net