The 'gormful' could rule if we'd let them

An old adage holds that the world is ruled by C-students. I make no dispute with the suggestion. I do, however, think it’s much too generous, considering what we see around us. I think it’s more like the C-minus and D students who truly rule our lives, not to mention the known universe.

“Don’t do well in school, son, and somebody you will be able to control many other people and acquire great wealth.”

The English have an expression for such people that I’m quite fond of, and use it myself, especially when dealing with petty bureaucrats, challenged store clerks, politicians and others, and that is “gormless.”

Gormless means, in essence, stupid. But, it seems to mean more than that. It suggests that the individual is lacking in something. What he or she appears to be lacking in is ‘gorm’. Now, I’m uncertain what gorm actually is, but I think it has to do with functioning brain cells.

I suppose if you were quite intelligent, you could be referred to as “gormful”, although I’ve never heard the expression.

Probably a good example of a gormless individual in popular culture would be Michael, the cringeworthy boss of the paper plant in the rather brilliant fake ‘reality’ series The Office. Michael is beyond stupid, he is amazing in his inability to comprehend even the most straightforward realities of life. The irony of the show (based on the Ricky Gervais British series of the same name) is that Michael is the boss! The guy who sweeps the floor has twice the intellect, but Michael is the boss. It’s staggering how often life works that way.

Yesterday, while reading the Sunday paper, I stumbled across an example of unbelievable gormlessness in high places. There is a woman who is a member of a commission dealing with drug addiction in Vancouver’s notorious ‘Downtown Eastside.’ She is a firm advocate of ‘harm reduction’, and a proponent of such dubious programs as ‘safe injection sites’ for junkies. I have opinions about harm reduction, which I will gladly share at some point, by the way. And, I’m not about to say it’s all bad, nor are the advocates all gormless. This individual is.

She suggested it would be a good idea for members of her commission to go into the elementary schools to teach little children the process of safely injecting drugs.

“Now, Tommy, this is a tourniquet, and we’re going to show you how to tie off a vein.”

"Christ on a crutch!" That was about all I could muster when I read this. I had never, I don’t think, read anything so fucking stupid and irresponsible in my life. Gormlessness prevails, friends.

Yet, look around you and consider how often this is represented in your daily life. You don’t need to get political about it. Gormlessness is not restricted to any particular party or persuasion. Yes, George W. Bush is apparently gormless in many of his thoughts, words and deeds, but you could find an equal number of boneheads in the other party. Same would apply to Canadian, British, Norwegian or Laplander politicians.

No, what I am suggesting is to, in non-partisan manner, consider who rules your lives and the lives other others and consider what you can do to encourage the prevailing of the ‘gormful.’

Most bloggers, by the way, are quite gormful, or they wouldn’t be doing what they do. I have been exposed to more intelligence in various blogs, and especially the ones on my list, than I generally experience elsewhere in my non-cyber life.

So, silently chant this mantra: The Gormful will rule the world! Maybe if we all think gormfully, it will happen.

It’s happened before. There was such a thing as a Renaissance at one time. Maybe it’s high time we pushed for another.