It has become obvious that modern mankind has become so befuddled that many simply cannot sort out the difference between things that are "real" and things that exist only in imagination. This can certainly be understood if we are talking about Quarks or Bosons, physics being a place where reality gets pretty twisty. That thousands, maybe even millions of people are actually of the opinion that the earth is 6000 years old, and that they feel that this opinion deserves respect is just one example of the unhinged drivel that passes for thoughts drifting through the tissue that passes for brains carried atop the spines of nitwits trying to pass as homo sapiens-sapiens. If that example seems offensive or intolerant pick something else that you think seems sillier; say, those who are convinced NASA faked the entire moon landing. Or perhaps you'd like a darker reality check like the dwindling number of people who "believe" the Holocaust happened or that the death camps existed.
How fortunate we are that a grasp of reality is seldom required to stay merrily going around about our business. Truth or lack of it is seldom a prerequisite to get through the day; a little lipstick dresses up the nonsense and makes it easy to accept that "whatever" is close enough, it'll work, get 'er done. If you believe that the television is actually a little stage where tiny little robots mimic humans and it's all filmed in a secret place and beamed to the networks it will have no major effect on your ability to purchase a cheeseburger for dinner at McDonalds; and, if you credit your burgeoning waistline to your amazing genetically unique ability to gain weight despite the fact that you never hardly eat at all, and expect this opinion to be respected as truth--trust me, you are in fine company and surrounded by legions of your peers. Rest easy, you're in no danger of extinction, in fact, it appears you and your kind are well on your way to a majority stake. Delusional thought shared by sufficient numbers is apparently felt to at some point magically acquire validity.
In fact, it almost seems that by disconnecting from the necessity to make thoughtful decisions about what is "real" and what is "not real" a person can soar to success--sprinkling happy nonsense about like so much Spring rain and watching it yield roses and tulips with wonderful result. And that is okay, just fine in fact. One does not have to know what makes a motor run to cut the grass; whether or not the gasoline is in your opinion the urine of long extinct unicorns or that the grass grows primarily based on the darkness it absorbs during the night is of no consequence.
I think, though, that in the end nonsense tends to breed nonsense and tends towards loss of energy to entropy. Living organisms have only so much time to struggle against entropy. I submit that it is a better thing to continue to struggle honorably by seeking discernment. While there may actually not be black and white, but only varying shades of grey, that is not sufficient to conclude that light does not matter. I guess lots of time one cannot fix stupid, nor should one necessarily try; but, one can examine one's beliefs, motivations, and closely held opinions now and again--maybe mop up a little internal stupid here and there. It's good for the universe.
